


Fallen Star

by WouldbeWriter23



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Mentions of Slavery, Minor Character Death, Stardust AU, some torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-09
Updated: 2018-05-31
Packaged: 2018-09-23 02:17:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 56,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9636434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WouldbeWriter23/pseuds/WouldbeWriter23
Summary: It's not easy being a Fallen star.First, he was knocked out of the sky, and the Moon told him he was Jack Frost. Then, he was dragged through all of creation by a grumpy rabbit-man named Aster, with rampant Winter powers running out of his control. And, to top it all of, there was the army of princes coming after him for the stone that knocked him out of the sky – which a certain star with sticky fingers just had to grab – that will give them the right to rule. Oh, and there's the crazed dark spirit determined to eat his heart that's hunting him down





	1. Fallen

" _Are we human because we gaze at the stars? Or do we gaze at them, because we are human? Pointless, really. 'Do the stars gaze back?', now that's a question."_ (Opening scene of **Stardust** )

The elderly king of Stormhold lay on his bed trying to bring air into his lungs through wheezing breathes. He was a fit man, well groomed and swaddled in an array of furs and fine silks from all corners of his kingdom.

 And he was only an hour, at best from what his physicians were saying, from death.

 He studied the five of his eight children in the room with him, frowning with that though prevalent in his mind. Standing over his bed were four of his six sons: Claude, Caleb, Pippen and James.  Standing next the boys was one of his two lovely daughters: little Sophia.

His children were lacking in many, many areas.  To be frank, they were total imbeciles, he thought gloomily. What a horrid predicament they'd put him in: on his deathbed with no clear heir with which he could entrust his throne. What was this foolishness? He had no such problems at their age and he'd had _twelve_ brothers to deal with! They'd all been dead before their father felt so much as a cough, yet his sons couldn't even wheedle their numbers down properly. Still four out of the six standing, honestly.

Oh well, not everyone could live up to such a legacy, he admitted in defeat, exhaling the tension in his shoulders as he continued to study them.

But damn, despite all their flaws, he had some good looking children. His sons all took after him in all the right ways: well-trimmed, fit figures with dark, luscious locks of brown hair and deep brown eyes. All perfect figures for the image of a king. And his daughters, though utterly useless, were true beauties. Little Sophia, his youngest child, with her light hair and pretty green eyes, looked just a little too much like her mother. He could see some of himself in her nose and mouth, he supposed, and though she didn't have the elegance of the look of him and his sons, Sophia had her own beauty. There was, after all, a reason that he'd married their mother, even though that women was so disgustingly full of will and opinions. Yes, he mused, Sophia's light look sickeningly reminded him of her mother, but she was still quite gorgeous.

But his oldest child, Ana, was a true dark beauty. She had layers of hair that were the color of night and smooth, perfect skin that was like porcelain. She may been have been a prince, and therefore was rather below his attention, but she was almost like a mix of a very female version of him and a precious doll.  By that extension, she was indeed beautiful, and worth her flaws through the bits of himself she reflected back.

"Father," Pippen spoke up, breaking the king from his thoughts with the annoying shrilled voice of his, "should we not see to the matter of succession?"

"Ana?" The king asked as he looked up at the boy, delirium projecting thoughts of his daughter onto his son.

Pippen scowled but put on a happy smile. If there was ever a time to suck up to his father, it was now—no matter how ill it made him to his stomach. Just think of the kingdom, he told himself firmly, keeping that smile in place.

"No, father. It's your son. Pippen."

"Oh," the king rolled his eyes, "And where is Ana? Where is your sister?"

"She's been missing for years, father. No need to start pretending to care now," Sophia said from her position near the head of the grand bed, her expression sour.

"Hold your tongue, you insufferable little wench!" Pippen snarled, raising his hand to strike his younger sister as he moved forward. Whether he cared about his father or not, no woman would talk to him like that in Pippen's presence.

Sophia cringed and cowered against the headboard, bracing for the strike. But before Pippen's hand could meet the girl's cheek, a steely grip locked around his forearm. As Pippen looked over his shoulder, his gaze met the seething brown orbs of his youngest brother.

"Keep your hands off her," James said with a growl.

"Aww, growing a backbone are we, Jamie?"

Jamie pulled his teeth back in a snarl, arching his back in an attempt to seem taller and more threatening to his larger brother. The effort only made Pippen laugh and he easily tore his arm out of Jamie's grip. He shoved the younger prince back and Jamie moved to hit him when the king interrupted them.

"Now, now boys," the king broke off with a hacking cough, his whole body trembling with the force of it. "Pippen," he mock scolded when he got his breath back, still smiling.

"What?" the older prince asked, his face alight with feigned shock.

"You know tradition dictates the throne can only be passed to a male heir," the king said with a small smile, focusing on his missing daughter rather than the small tussle between the boys.

"Yeah, I know. So why would you think I killed Ana? I still have these morons to take care of," he said with a wave at his brothers. Said morons all rolled their eyes in annoyance and insult.

The king laughed in approval, and Pippen sent a sneer at the other three princes. Score one for Pippen, he all but shouted.

The princess only rolled her eyes and edged away from the bed and the man lying on it with a scowl. She was surrounded by idiotic men and stuck with no power against any of it. Being a princess in this family sucked, she thought, not for the first time, with a sigh.

"Now, that brings us to the predicament of my succession." The four princes leaned forward eagerly, "As you know, we have not had a problem, such as this, in many generations," the king wheezed, breathe passing with more and more difficulty.

"Father, why don't you just rest? This can wait until morning," Jamie said.

No matter how cruel this man was to his children, how he had never shown even the smallest shred of affection to any of them and encouraged that his sons kill each other, he was still Jamie's father and the youngest prince loved him. To see his father put himself under such strain was difficult to watch, and knowing that he would die this night tore his heart to shreds.

"It cannot," the king insisted and Jamie silenced himself. "As we have not faced, a predicament such as this in such a while, we will solve this matter, outside of the restraints of tradition."

The king paused again, trembling as death closed in on him. Determined to see this through to the end, the king forced his quivering hands to unclasp the ruby that hung low on his chest from the golden chain draped around his neck. The gem had been an heirloom of the kingdom for five generations, belonging to the very first king of his bloodline. Every king since had worn it, and so it seemed fitting that the stone should solve this particular problem. Forcing in air into his lungs once again, the elder mutter a spell over the gem, watching the beautiful deep red color drained from the ruby. With the now transparent stone hovering in front of his face, the king drew in what he knew would be his final breathe.

"Only he of my blood can restore the ruby. And the one who does so, shall, be, be the new king, of Stormhold." With the last of his breathe, the king blew over the stone, cementing the spell as he went limp and fell into death.

For a moment the room was silent, the four princes staring at the hovering stone in awe. It was encased in golden light, hovering over the body of their dead father like it was waiting for them. Pippen was the first to make a grab for it as the necklace suddenly dashed for the window. Claude stopped him with an elbow to the throat that knocked his older brother to his knees. Caleb shoved them both aside and Jamie dashed past them only to have Pippen latch onto his leg. He fell to the ground, pulling Caleb with him, then all four men were clambering over each and dashing after the stone as it zipped out the window and out of their reach, soaring ever higher into the sky as it flew across the kingdom.

"Well, what happens now?" Claude asked, leaning out of the window so he could gaze up at the sky to follow the stone.

Pippen scowled at the younger prince, rubbing his sore throat. Then his grinned, moved closer to Claude, and positioned his hand to hover over the small of the younger man’s back.

"Now it's a race to the stone. May the best man win." With that he shoved his hand into Claude's back, sending his brother over the edge of the window with a scream. And he laughed as he watched Claude's form disappear as it fell from the tallest tower of the castle.

Pippen smiled at his two remaining brothers, who had darted away from the window and safely out of reach. The two stared at him warily as he continued to laugh, "For my throat," he said down to where Claude had vanished, spitting to emphasis his distaste.

Then he gazed back up at where the stone was now just a streak of light in the sky. The other two princes flanked him to do the same. Pippen only looked their way to send Caleb a warning look as the man timidly lifted his hands to push him out, as well. When Caleb cowered appropriately, he directed his gaze back to the sky above. The three stood watching as the streak of light that was the stone became dimmer and dimmer.

#

In the heavens above, the stars watched. Observing the world below them was all that there was to do, after all, and the death of a king of Stormhold was always a spectacle. As such, it drew the attention of almost every star in the sky.

And so, almost every star witnessed the king's last act and saw the royal gem soaring toward them, wild magic pushing it far into the heavens. Unfortunately, the only star not watching these events was the only one the stone was hurtling toward. The brothers and sisters of this star could only watch in pity and horror as the stone continued its path of collision.

#

The young star was watching the other side of the world when the king of Stormhold took his last breath. Below him, there were children playing in the snow, having fun as they laughed and played. It was nothing overly amazing, nothing world changing, mundane and ordinary but he was a young star; he'd hardly seen three hundred lives of men, and he liked to watch the simple things. He loved to watch children play, and families love. It filled him with great happiness that was, sadly, lost to many of the older stars.  He never saw the stone as soared toward him, never knew to be afraid.

When the stone struck him, at first he wasn't sure what happened. All he knew was that it hurt, and jerked his attention away from the fun below.  He found that very annoying. But when he turned his attention to the source of the pain, a light that was brighter than anything he'd seen, even as a star, flashed around him. Then, he was torn from his place in the sky and he felt utter fear as he realized he was Falling.  The sky around him warped, blurring around him in a streak of white and purple light.  He watched in a detached kind of terror as the ground rapidly came closer.

After a time that was both much too long and too short, he struck the ground. As the pain wracked through him, he saw the Earth shoot upward in a plume that blocked out the sky.

The light that had surrounded him dimmed slowly, pulsing from his chest for a moment longer before fading all together. When everything cleared, the last of the light and the dust, he blinked up at the sky, where the stars looked down at him. And he had to laugh, because nothing ever looked down on him; that was his job.

The longer he sat there blinking, the more clear everything became. And the clearer it became, the less he wanted to laugh and the more he wanted to cry. His laugh died away and he choked on tears, afraid and confused and hurting from his collision with the earth. To keep the tears at bay– because he didn't know much about this new life, but he knew he didn't like crying, at all – he focused on his surroundings.

He looked up at the stars, at his family that he was so abruptly cut off from and that didn't help with his plan of not crying. So instead, he focused on him. If he turned his head to the side, he could see his hand, he had hands that was so weird! He couldn't force that hand to do anything though, it just stayed there, laying just a little higher than his head.

It was cushioned in a fabric that was soft and silky to the touch, billowing and much like the color of a stormy day, turned up toward the sky with fingers that were curled into the palm ever so slightly. Frowning at that, he turned his focus else-where, thinking. It only made since that if he had a hand, he had a body that went with that hand, which was also very weird. But he couldn't see that body, because his head – head head head he had a head! A head complete with hair that was like moonlight and hanging in his eyes– wouldn't work any better than his hand. His body wasn't working at all so it was actually really boring, and he couldn't bring himself to look at the sky he'd been tossed out of. So, overall, his fight against crying wasn't working to well as he'd hoped.

He forced his head to the side – and hey, that actually worked!—to do something to not cry. And there just next to him, was a necklace. Deciding to keep his mind on that, he managed to force his hand to move and grab it, and he was very proud of that accomplishment. He grabbed the necklace and pulled it close, finding that he really liked the cool feel of the clear stone under his palm. He let out another laugh and looked back up at the sky, forgetting the sadness it brought him in the elation of making his hand work.

The heavens above were a deep midnight blue, appearing endless, something he knew to be perfectly true. The lights of his family shinned down mournfully to him, so remote and far away. Before the tears could well up again, the star's attention was drawn to the beautifully glowing orb of the moon. It hung over him, blocking out the rest of the sky with its light, big and bright and chasing away all the fear and pain of his Fall.

Then, the light of the moon fell over him, warm and soft, and the moon spoke to him. And he listened for a time before the light was gone, leaving him alone in the darkness of the world. His fight against not crying suddenly didn't seem so important.

 He drew the necklace to his chest and curled in on himself and let himself cry his sorrow to the sky above, where he longed to be with all his heart. When he was finally done, his throat raw and his nose stuffy, he looked back up at the sky, at the now silent moon, and thought about what he knew about his new life.

His name was Jack Frost, from what the moon had told him, and he had Fallen.

That was all, he thought and he let himself cry again


	2. Grumpy Strangers are weird

A Fallen star could cause quite the stir among the few who could recognize one. Those precious few knew that the key to dealing with a star – for good or evil – was to get to it before anyone else could. No star in Stormhold went unnoticed for very long.

The Fall of the star that would become Jack Frost was seen from miles around. It looked like nothing more than a streak of light across the sky to most of the world, but any who knew how to look realized what it truly was. The streak was accompanied by a gentle rumble, and when it passed over head the only two pairs of eyes watching at the time zipped up and widened. One in surprise and concern and the other in sick joy and hunger.

The first man who stared up at the star was unaware of the other set of eyes watching the same flash of light, hundreds of miles to the south.

It was pure luck that he was baring witness to this rare spectacle of magic. He was a just factory worker on his break, and he'd decided to go up to one of the balconies for some fresh air. The man worked in the toy section of this towering factory and was deemed the floor manager by his fellow workers. While he loved what he did for a living, it could get a bit stuffy in there at times, so he'd decided to go to the balcony, relishing the cool air. And fate had given him the gift of seeing something that only happened once in a few hundred years, if that. He stood there watching the steak of purple and blue-white light for another moment before he dashed back into the workshop. The boss needed to know about this.

Mr. Nicholas St. North, just North to his friends, was the prosperous owner of this workshop, the most successful factory in Stormhold. While they primarily manufactured toys, North was a master of all crafts and dabbled in many mediums. His workers, all hand-picked and taught by the boss himself, made a number of fine cloths and fabrics, furniture, anything and everything the kingdom needed.

As such, the products of North's 'workshop', as he called it, were highly desired throughout Stormhold. The high demand made him a very successful man, but it also made him a very busy one. Though North's primary responsibility was the manager of the workshop and his main task was over-seeing his workers, he also worked on new designs for his products, practically doubling his responsibilities. Oh yes, he enjoyed his work, he loved it and the joy he brought to the young, but he was _busy_.

So the very first thing he thought was how annoying the interruption was when his worker burst into his office. North's jump of surprise had resulted in him ruining a very nice ice sculpture – it was supposed to be a flying train, kids throughout the kingdom would have loved it. Not only that, but they were approaching the busiest time of the year and he was neck deep in forms and designs that all desperately needed his attention. He did not have time for this nonsense!

North communicated as much as the other man hurried him to the nearest window.  But the annoyance quickly faded when the worker, whom his memory finally identified as Phil, motioned to the sky.

North stared in stunned silence at the light of the star as it faded and finally vanished when it hit the ground and as soon as he registered what that streak really was he was running at top speed – he was deceptively spry for such a large man – through his workshop. He needed to call the others, immediately!

"We're going to have company," he called over his shoulder as he went.

Phil nodded, though North couldn't see it, and moved to make the preparations for the upcoming guests. They would likely be here for quite some time.

The thing that few outside a trusted number inside his workshop knew about North was that the man was more than just a successful business man. Nicholas St. North was one the Guardians of Magic and while the four of them watched over all magic, they specialized in the protection of Fallen stars. The young, innocent new life of a star on earth was always in danger, and as such they needed protection far more than any other form of life.

North winced in concern as he finally made his way to the switch that would call his friends, his colleagues. He pulled it, twisted it and slammed it down, sending flashes of colorful light through the sky. To the non-magical eye, the night sky looked like it did any other night, just dark with twinkle of star light. But to the Guardians and others of the magic world, the sky was lit up like the day in a rainbow of colored-streams, and their meaning was impossible to miss. North folded his hands and sat back; it wouldn't be long before they arrived.

He just hoped they arrived and could be brought up to speed before someone else found that helpless star.

#

Far to the south, almost a half a world away, another set of magic eyes watched as that same trail of light from the star disappeared from sight. His heart, which he had begun to believe was long dead, pumped with excitement at the sight and a grin lit his face for the first time in centuries. Finally…..

His stomach all but growled in hunger as he whirled back around and hobbled back into his lair. Hobbling was all he could do now, he thought as a frown wiped away the demented happy grin. It had been for a long while. Five hundred years, to be exact. For five. Hundred. Years, he'd been forced to endure this. Forced to watch as his skin withered and his strength waned, unable to do more than sit by idly as his body died around him.

But not for much longer, he thought firmly, craning his head back to cast a look up to the sky even though his roof blocked it from view now. Not for very much longer at all.

The pathetic husk that was once one of the greatest spirits the world had to offer finally made his way to his supplies. He shuffled through the disorder as he searched for a shadow candle. It was a mode of transportation of his own design, allowing him to travel through the shadows to anywhere he desired with just a thought.

If he could find it through all this clutter, that was. Discarded papers with various spells scribbled on them, experimental charms that hadn't panned out, animal bones from rituals for his few spells that had worked. How had he lived this way all these years? It was a pig pen, he thought in disgust as he searched. It reeked of death and was filled with knee-deep trash. The moment he finished with that star, he was going to fix the disarray he'd allowed his lair to fall into. If he could just find that candle!

Then the answer hit him and he almost sank to the ground in despair: he'd used the last of them, nearly two hundred years ago. The spirit rested his head against the cool surface of the table, letting a disappointed groan slip through his lips. Now what was he going to do?

He snarled at the weakness of that thought and used the anger to pull himself together. Think clearly you worm, he chastised himself. He'd waited centuries for this moment. If he had to spend a few more days making his way to the star by foot, then so be it. He was going to need what was left of the last star if he was going about it that way, though. He sighed at that, but quickly pushed aside his disappointment. He'd been saving the last of the star for a special occasion, and he supposed it didn't get much more special than this. Resolved, he made his way over to the ornate box that held the remains.

The box was made of precious black stone, designed from the pressurized glass-rock created in the aftermath of a star's Fall. Its only purpose was to contain remains of such a being, and it was the only material in the world that could do so.

The stone responded only to his magic, opened only by his hands. He lifted the lid slowly and deliberately, trying to bite back his excitement as he gazed at where his prize was nestled inside. There wasn't much of it left; barely a handful of beautiful, pure white light. No matter, it would do for now and soon, soon he'd have more than he could even imagine. The thought sent a thrill through him and the spirit let out a groan of anticipation as he grasped the palm-full of light.

A jolt of Fear shot down his spine when the light came in contact with the skin of his hand – fear of pain and of death and the final cry of a being's last, horrific few moments of life– the spirit shivered in delight, tucking his hand to his chest. He limped to the nearest mirror as quickly as he could, grinning like mad. Normally he avoided the reflective surfaces, disgusted with the reflection that would flash back at him, but he wanted to see this.

The being that stared back at him from the mirror was a shell of what he'd once been. It was a hunched, shriveled sack of wrinkled grey skin wrapped loosely in a black robe. His back had curled in on itself long ago, forcing him to stoop in on himself. His skin was dried up like a prune in the sun, and it was a near miracle it even stayed attached to his bones.  His hair hung off his head in a light wisp, leaving him almost entirely bald save for a few dark strands.

He sneered at the reflection. This husk he'd become was pathetic, a decrepit disgrace to his legacy. But now, he decided looking down at the ball of light cupped in his fist, now was the time to change that. With no further thought of hesitation, the spirit brought the light to his mouth and let it slide down his throat. The effect was immediate.

He let out a breathy sigh of bliss as the sense of Fear and magic flowed through him in a warm glow and he straightened to his full height for the first time in decades. He watched with a smile as a new crop of hair spilled out over his head, full and deep black, curling at the base of his neck. His skin smoothed out, though it was still pale grey, and was pulled tight over sharp cheek bones and a long nose, framing a pair of silver-gold eyes. His eyes were the only things that had stayed the same over the long years. They held power and age and wisdom of the centuries in their depths. The spirit smiled at his reflection this time, showing a mouthful of white, pointed teeth.

Now this is who he was. This was Pitch Black.

He ran a hand through his hair, trailed his fingers over his smoothed skin, his smile growing all the while. He would be this way forever more, he promised himself. On that note, he needed to find that star.

Humming at that thought, Pitch stopping preening over his revived face long enough to place a long finger on the cool surface of the mirror. He poured his will into the glass and smiled as the surface began to ripple. Ah magic, it was so good to have magic again, he thought with another grin. The mirror shimmered once more and his reflection fell away. In place of his likeness was a crater, and the crumpled, sleeping form of the star at its center.

Interesting, the star was a boy this time. He was a young teenager, a little slip of a thing with a head of messy white hair and fresh face.

"How sweet," Pitch murmured as he watched the boy sleep in the rest of the truly innocent.

He placed his full hand over the boy's visage, closing his eyes and willing his location to come to him. Pitch only received a vague answer: a hundred miles away. He would need his ruins for a more specific location. He could work with that.

Pitch gazed at the boy-star for another moment. He really was sweet, quite a lovely little thing. It was almost a shame.

"Enjoy the world while you can, little boy," Pitch said with a grin. "You won't be part of it for much longer."

He twirled away with a rustle of cloth, determination and hunger shinning in his eyes.

#

North paced uneasily as he waited for his friends to arrive.

All the workers but the select few who knew of North's second calling, Phil among them, had been sent away for the meeting. But it wasn't the threat of discovery that had the big man so restless; it was the danger to the other Guardians that came with these very rare meetings.

North ran a nervous hand through his hair and shot another look at the window as he continued his pacing. He could think of so many things that could go wrong on the way from each of the other Guardians' respective homes to his workshop. So many of their enemies who would go after them at their most vulnerable as much as they would any Fallen star. Two in particular were at more risk than any of the others, North thought as he sent a third look in as many seconds out the window. When he saw the approaching glow of familiar golden light, the man almost went to jelly with relief. He smiled brightly at the little golden man who flew through the window, and sent the same look to the lanky teen that followed him.

Sandy and Nightlight were here, and more importantly, they were safe. As the majority of the anxiety lifted from his tightened chest, North realized that concern for the Fallen stars troubled him more than he thought.

Nightlight and Sandy were the first Guardians of the team. They were both stars who had both Fallen when the earth was still young, and had watched the roots of humanity grow and bloom, watched Stormhold grow from little more than a speck of a village to a great empire. They'd watched the highs and lows of the world, the light and the dark. And after watching far too many of their kin die at that hands of greedy humans and dark spirits alike over the long years, the two had formed the Guardians to protect themselves and others of their kind.

Nightlight, the oldest of the Guardians, ironically given his youthful appearance, was gifted with the power over light itself. He was fragile in appearance with the long limbs that looked like twigs and a slim torso of a youthful growth spurt. His face was young with sharp angles, looking no older than sixteen despite his head of wild white hair.

The boy-spirit's eyes were the only thing that represented his true age. They were a remarkable shade of grey, displaying knowledge of millennium both in the sky and on the earth. His power over light surrounded him in an ever present glow of starlight that had a soothing effect on anyone who came into contact with him. It made his involvement in Guardian affairs imperative, no matter how rare such occasions had to be for the boy's protection.

North placed a hand on the star's slim shoulder and Nightlight's glow kick up another level in response, his power further soothing the fear in North's gut. The big man gave the shoulder under his hand a squeeze and gave Sandy another smile, expressing his relief to see them both safe. The little man flashed him a thumbs up and North cracked an amused grin.

Sandy, or Sanderson Mansnoozie as he was much more rarely known, had gifts similar to his elder kinsman. The golden light haloed around the little man and decorated his skin was just as calming as Nightlight's white starlight, only Sandy's particular glow had the tendency to calm people to the point that they fell into deep sleep. The little man also had the ability to shape dreams, something that came in handy for comforting the traumatized victims of dark magic users.

The two were by far the most valued members of the Guardians, and as such were under more constant threat than any of their colleges.

North was relieved beyond words to see them both safe. And, seeing as the two never had much use for words – North had heard Nightlight speak perhaps twice in their long friendship and had never heard Sandy speak so much as a word – no such thing was needed. The two flashed their lights to express their understanding and joy and North gave them a smile in return.

The big man placed on hand on the small of Nightlight's back and reached up to place the other on Sandy's shoulder as he led his friends deeper through the workshop and to one of the primary sitting/break-rooms.

 Once the two were settled and their treats of cookies and eggnog, a favorite of Sandy’s, in particular, had been distributed, North went back to wait for their final member. If he decided to come, that is, there was about a fifty-fifty chance on that.

But North didn't have to wait much longer before the sounds of cursing and complaints reached his ears. He smiled and shook his head, turning to face the source of the angry complaints.

"Bloody freezing. Can't feel my feet!"

"Bunny!" Said spirit jumped when North slapped him on the furry shoulder. "Is good to see you, my friend!" North went on, ignoring the way the Pooka whipped around in shock and the glare sent his way.

"Bloody hell, North," Bunny muttered as he clutched his chest in an attempt to keep his heart in his ribcage where it belonged. The big man only chuckled and looked the rabbit-spirit over.

Aster Bunnymund was the latest addition to the Guardians, brought on via rescue from the slaughter of his people several years earlier. The Pookas were a tribe of shape-shifting rabbit-like spirits, immortal beings linked to magic in its oldest form. They were the traditional guardians of the stars. Sadly, that connection led them to the unfortunate fate shared by many of their Fallen charges.

North remembered the day with sickening clarity. Nightlight and Sandy had both received distress signals from their furred protectors and the three of them set out as soon as they realized the danger.  But by the time they'd arrived to the desperate call for help, Aster was the only one left alive.

The Pooka was little more than a child at the time. North had found him by sheer chance, barely more than a ball of grey fur nestled in a pile of mangled bodies. North shuttered at the memory, thinking of those haunted green eyes and terrified young face. It had taken time, long and painful decades of support, but the grey rabbit-man was beginning to recover from that trauma; there was a time, North mused, not too long ago that Aster would have just stayed buried in his Warren and ignored the summons until the other three Guardians had to track him down.

"This better be good, North. Why do ya have ta live up in this frozen waste land?" Aster complained, drawing North out of his recollection.

"Is good to see you," he said again in a gentler tone this time, giving Aster's shoulder a squeeze. "And yes, is good reason. I would not have called you here if it were not. Come, I will explain." North steered the rabbit toward the sitting room with Nightlight and Sandy.

Upon seeing the two lounging in the room, the tension in Aster's shoulders disappeared. North hadn't been the only one worried about their older colleges. North smiled and patted his shoulder once more before moving to the center of the room to the three in the eye.

"So, what is it that's so important, Nikki?" Aster jabbed as he sat between Sandy and Nightlight.

As the two stars were never much for conversation, Aster and North often took to banter to break the icy silence that could often fall over the group. A jab with their respective irritating nicknames was usually the way they sparked such banter. This time, North just gave him a serious look and Aster fell into a nervous silence. Something was very, very wrong.

"A star has Fallen."

Shock that fell over the room.  Sandy and Nightlight exchanged nervous looks. The way that their lights flashed showed that they were close to full blown panic. Aster sighed and pulled at his ears in distress. Not good, not good at all.

"When?" Aster asked after a moment, all traces of the teasing atmosphere gone from his tone.

"Shortly before I called you here."

"And yer sure?"

"It flew right over my home."

At that, Sandy perked up waving his hand over his windblown head of blonde hair for attention. A map formed out of the golden light over his head, followed by a question mark. 'Do you know where?'

"No," North said in reply.

"Which why ya called us here?" When North nodded, Aster went on, "We goin' as a group?"

"No. The four of us all at once will draw too much attention to the star."

"Agreed. I’ll go," Aster said after a beat.

All eyes swiveled to the rabbit, full of varying degrees of shock and concern.

"We can't ask you to do that," Nightlight spoke up, the use of his rarely heard voice displaying his concern. Until just a few years ago, they couldn't even have asked Aster to venture out of his home. Nightlight was not overly eager to destroy that progress by pushing Aster too fast. "You know who we can expect out there."

Aster went cold, "Pitch," he said in both agreement and dread. Just saying the name brought the memories of fire and screaming and blood, so much blood—Aster shook himself harshly, determined to stay strong on this. "I know, that's why it hasta be me."

"Bunny—"

"North, ya can't track stars. It hasta be one of the three of us, an' I am not letting one of those two out there 'lone!" Aster made a jerking motion to Nightlight and Sandy. "We're not puttin' more victims out there, 'specially with Pitch runnin' around. It hasta be me and I’ll be skinned before I leave a star defenseless out there."

Never again, Aster added to himself as he stared each of his friends down, almost daring them to speak against him.

"Are you sure of this, my friend?" North asked, meeting Aster's stare steadily.

"I’m sure."

"Then all I can ask it that you be safe, Aster."

Aster jolted at the use of his real name but smiled. He had to do this, he needed to do this, and he was happy for the support.

"Bring our brother back safe," Nightlight threw in with Sandy giving a nod beside him.

Aster grinned in response, "Don' worry. I’ll grab the kid and pop back before ya can take a breath."

"Quick as a bunny?" North teased with twinkle in his eye.

Aster face blanked for a moment before he scowled at his friend.

"Ha, ha. Real cute, North."

He dismissed the big man after that and pushed his concentration out into the world as he scented the air. The presence of a newly Fallen star was like a bolt of electricity in the air. Aster and his people were uniquely equipped to pick up on that charge, and it didn't take him long to pin-point the location.

"Got 'im. I’ll see ya in a jiff," Aster declared and with no further hesitation, he tapped his foot twice against the floor.

In an instant a tunnel opened in the hardwood floor, and Aster leaped down, giving a grin at North's complaint about the damage to his floor as he went. Served the man right, Aster thought triumphantly.

North grumbled as he watched the hole close up, leaving a single bloom in its place. The man hated it when Aster opened one of his tunnels in the workshop. They left such unseemly dips in his floor.

Then he sighed as the annoyance turned to wariness. North had a feeling that this wasn't going to be as easy as grabbing the star and just jumping back to the workshop. He felt that it was going to be much more complicated than that. In his belly.

#

Jack stirred awake slowly and blinked groggily up at the sky. He swallowed the lump in his throat at the wrongness of that and levered himself up with his elbows. He took a deep breath and rubbed at the dried tears on his cheeks as he sniffled. He really didn't like crying, Jack decided, it made him feel stuffy and tired even though he'd just woken up. He took in another lungful of air and let it out with a quiet 'whoosh'.

The weight of the stone his hand brought Jack's attention to the necklace that had knocked him out the sky.

The stone was clear, completely transparent and fit snugly in his palm with a golden chain so long it nearly touched the ground. He wanted to hate it, this little thing that had banished him from his home and everything he'd ever known. He wanted to hate it and throw it to the side and curl back up to cry again. Instead, he slipped the stone around his neck and let it hang low on his chest. Then he looked back up at the sky and the twinkling light of his family. He wasn't going to get home just sitting in this hole, he told himself firmly.

With that thought, Jack climbed to his feet, and found that action was much easier said than done. He managed to get upright, but as soon as he was standing he nearly went back to his knees when a sharp pain went up his, his—what was that dangly thing used for standing called again? Leg! His leg hurt. Oh did his leg hurt.  It was a dull, grinding ache from his hip to his knee. Jack winced a swallowed back a surge of vomit.  He much have hurt it, maybe landed on it wrong, during his Fall.

He didn't think he would be able to move on that leg. Jack frowned and shifted the aching limb experimentally. Then he took a tiny step forward and winced as the pain nearly tripled. Despite the increased ache, Jack managed to take another step. And then another. It wasn't fun, and it wasn't very fast, but Jack finally managed to shuffle his way to the edge of the crater.

"Piece, of cake," Jack panted through the pain flaring up and down his leg.

Jack was just starting to make his slow, painful way up the incline when he turned toward the sound of rumblings to his left. He watched a hole open up in the center of his crater and a pair of long, furry ears poke out. Then Jack gave a cry as he was thrown off his feet by a blast of blinding white light.  His head slammed against the crater wall and groaned when stars flashed behind his eye lids.

Heh, stars, that was funny.

"Crikey, what was that?"

Jack shook his head to clear his vision and held the bump on the back of his head as he peered toward the source of the voice. Huh, that was weird. Jack didn't think rabbits got that big in Stormhold.

 But no matter how weird it seemed, that was indeed a rabbit lying a few feet away from Jack and rubbing its own head. Apparently the rabbit had been knocked down by the same blast of light Jack had. The star blinked rapidly in an attempt to fix whatever was wrong with his eyes and making him see giant rabbits as said giant rabbit climbed back to its feet. Then Jack tried to shrink into the rock as the rabbit's eyes locked on him and the thing started forward.

"Ya the star?"

Oh good heaven, it talked, too. "What are you?" Jack asked back, too stunned to think of much else to ask.

"Name's Aster. Everything else will be explain later, kit. Right now, we gotta get ya safe."

"Whoa, hey!" Jack cried in surprise and light pain as the rabbit – Aster, Jack corrected – jerked him to his feet and then tucked Jack to his furry chest.

"Just hang tight, kit. Ya'll be okay."

Aster tapped his large foot against the ground and concentrated on summoning another tunnel. He had to get this kid back to the workshop as quickly as possible. The heavens above only knew how many dark spirits were on their way to the star.

 But instead of a magically created hole appearing, another explosion of light blasted them apart, this time with an accompanying crackle of ice and frost. Aster groaned and rubbed his tender tail bone and heard the star-kit yelp unhappily across the way.

"Will you stop that?!" Jack snapped, close to tears as the pain from his leg mixed with the new ache in his head.

"It's not me!" Aster yelled back.

The Pooka shivered and rubbed his arms in an attempt to warm up. At the feel of frost on his fur, Aster looked down to see that there were indeed icy particles decorating his chest. He scowled in thought and looked up, tracing the trail of frost lining the ground. The trail ended where the star was sprawled on the ground and Aster's jaw popped open when the answer hit him.

"Winter magic? Yer the first star in history ta develop elemental magic an' ya get Winter magic?!" Aster groaned and rubbed his face.

"Look, I don't know what you're rambling about, but I don't care. So just leave me alone."

Jack stalked away the best he could on his bad leg. Aster caught up with no problem and brought Jack to halt with a firm grip on his shoulder.

"Look, my normal transport's outta commission, so we'll need ta walk it," the rabbit man said as he pulled Jack toward the edge of the crater.

"Are you crazy, I'm not going anywhere with you!" Jack jerked his arm free to illustrate his point. "I'm going home,"

"There is no goin' home, ankle-biter. And yer not safe on yer own. We gotta go."

Jack stumbled away before Aster could grab him again. The Pooka gave an annoyed huff and darted forward, snatching both of the boy's skinny arms this time. Jack twisted and gave an angry shout as he flailed.

"Yer not gonna make this easy, are ya?" A painful kick to the leg was his answer. Aster sighed and shifted his grip around Jack's midsection so he could toss the squirming teen over his shoulder.

"Hey! Put me down! Put me down, right now!" Jack pounded on Aster's lower back and kicked madly, screaming for his release at the top of his lungs all the while.

Aster folded his ears tight to his head to guard against the noise. The kid sure had a set of lungs, he thought and sighed.

Without his tunnels, it would take almost a week to get back to the workshop. Aster winced, both at the crushing realization and the stab of pain in his eardrums when the star's shout went up another octave.

It was going to be a long journey home.


	3. Stranger Danger

Jamie knelt before the glass case that displayed his father's crown and pressed his forehead against the glass as he closed his eyes. Hot tears pooled beneath his eyelids and clogged in his throat and he sniffled to keep them at bay. He took a breath and swallowed against the lump in his throat.

Grief was such an odd thing, he thought with a morbid sigh. Jamie had not one fond memory with his father from his entire life.  In fact the only memories he had with the man were of pain and sadness and beatings.  Yet Jamie still missed him. Still he mourned the man with all of his heart. What did that say about him?

Jamie sighed again at that and got off of his knees. He turned his back on the case and moved to the other side of the room to where his family's portrait hung. This was the only painting in existence that depicted his entire family. It was the last time his family had been whole; his mother had died shortly after it was painted, and not long after that his brothers had started killing each other for a chance at the throne.

In the picture his father was at the center, obviously, sitting regally on his throne. He was dressed in his finest for the picture, his crown and all his finest jewels polished for the occasion, a self-satisfied smile shadowing his face. The king was still relatively young when this was painted, making him look less menacing than he had at the end of his life. His black hair was only starting to show a hint of silver around the edges, his eyes were still clear of crow's feet, his skin was clear of all signs of age.

 Jamie found himself looking away from the image of his father quickly, feeling as if the man was staring at him from the frame.  His skin tingling, the way it did when he was expecting a hit and his heart pounded in fear. Shaking his head at the stupidity of that feeling, Jamie focused back on the painting – although, his eyes still skimmed over his father.

Standing to one side of the king, cradling a sleep, infant Sophia, was Jamie's mother. The queen, Yvaine, was a princess from the north whose kingdom had married her off to his father as a peace treaty with Stormhold. She held the ethereal beauty unique to the northern kingdom; white gold hair and striking green eyes that made her seem like she was glowing. She was so lovely, Jamie thought with tears pooling in his eyes. His eyes skimmed over where his nine-year-old self stood in front of his mother and shifted to the rest of the portrait.

On the other side of his father was his oldest sibling, Ana. She was so beautiful with her light and dark features and those striking violet eyes. And always so kind and strong no matter what happened at home: god, he missed her so much.

Ana became a surrogate mother after Yvaine's death, and in a way she was the only mother he'd ever known. And now she was gone, just like his mother and father and his brothers—a hand on his shoulder broke the whirlwind of the loss and the tears that threated to spill over his cheeks. He turned to see his younger sister, looking up at the same painting he was.

"Were we ever really that happy?"

Jamie studied the painting, at the small smiles he and his family all wore. He looked at kind, skinny little Monty, with the crop of odd red hair.  He was the first to die at only fourteen years old. Charles, who they'd all called Cupcake for his sweet nature under that tough exterior, had followed him at eighteen. Then there were the twins and finally Pippen, all in a v-pattern around their father.

They all had such happy, bright smiles, and less than twelve years later, most of them had been murdered. Could that have really come from a happy life?

"I don't know," Jamie finally answered.

"I miss her so much," Sophia murmured as she gazed at the likeness of their sister. "We wouldn't be here if it weren't for her, you know?"

Jamie nodded and knew that she wasn't talking about the fact that Ana had raised them. Their father was….cruel, with a single minded desire for male heirs. The fact that first child from his new wife was a female must have infuriated him to no end and if it weren't for the fact that Ana was his spitting image, the king would have murdered the queen in an instant.

Well sooner than he eventually had, anyway, because it was well known throughout the kingdom that Queen Yvaine's death was by the king's hand. The official record was that she'd died delivering another child, but Jamie remembered in complete clarity that his mother's stomach had been utterly flat in the months leading up to her death. There had been no child and no complications leading to death – his father had killed his mother because she'd had another girl.

And yet he still missed his monster of a father more than he did his loving, pure, sainted mother. What was wrong with him?

"It's not wrong to miss him, you know." Jamie turned and was met with those bright green eyes that were somehow so old on that young face. "He was wrong, and he was sick, but he still the only dad we had. It's only normal to miss him."

"Do you?"

Sophia glanced from Ana to the painted image of their father, "In a way. He was an awful king and a worse father….but life is different without him. I feel, like something in me is empty now. I guess that's the same thing.”  She rapidly blink against a swell of tears, and then turned to look at her brother head on.  "Jamie, why are you still here?"

The prince jolted at the sudden shift in topic. "Where else would I be?"

"Out looking for the stone," she said in exasperation.

"Soph—"

"You have to find it before Caleb and Pippen. You have to prove, once and for all, that a king doesn't have to be bloodthirsty to gain the throne."

"Sophie, I can't. I don't have what it takes to be king."

"Why? Because you'll be a good king? Because you'll be benevolent? You'd be a on the throne than either of those idiots."

"Well.  That is very fascinating. Don't you think so, Caleb?"

"Oh, definitely."

Jamie and Sophie stiffened, exchanged nervously glances and then turned to meet the gazes of the final members of their dwindling family.

Pippen strolled in first, all confidence as usual, followed closely by Caleb.  They both wore self-satisfied and cruel smirks as the stared at Jamie and Sophie. Jamie moved subtly in front of his sister as he stared the older princes down. He was not going to let Pippen lay a hand on their sister, not as long as he could stand for her.

Pippen just smiled wider as he noticed the battle stance, looking more than happy at the prospect of a fight with the youngest prince. The room stayed in tense silence for a moment, broken only by the entrance of the kingdom's bishop.

"Your majesties, Princess Sophia," he greeted, either ignoring or not noticing the tension. "I'm glad to see you all here; I'd like to propose a toast."

The elder man lifted a platter of five silver goblets. Each of the four royals took one as the platter was passed around and the bishop took the final goblet. "To the new king," the man declared, "whichever of you fine men it may be."

The three princes muttered their agreement and all five brought the goblets to their lips. The bishop took a sip of the wine first, followed a split-second by Sophie. As she drank, the princess found her eyes drawn to Pippen, and she saw the cold glint in his eyes and the sharpened edge of his smile before his lips disappeared behind the glass. She lowered the glass slowly and followed his line of sight. Pippen was eagerly studying Jamie and Caleb as the two prepared to drink. The girl felt a sharp twist in her gut and darted forward rather than think on what caused it.

"NO!" She knocked the goblet from Jamie's hand before the liquid passed his lips. Jamie looked at her in shock, and Caleb jerked the glass away from his face. The other three men looked glanced over in confusion, Pippen's look tinted in mild annoyance.

"Soph, what are you—" Jamie abruptly cut himself off as the bishop began to gasp and choke from across the room.

The silver haired man wrapped his hands around his own throat and gurgled as he wheezed and his face turned purple. Then he collapsed and fell backward, sending wine splattering across the floor. The four stared at the body in shock silence until Caleb gave a frightened shout and flung his cup away. The sound snapped everyone out of their stunned states, and Pippen gave an angry groan. Then he flicked his angry gaze over to Sophie.

"You just had to go and drink out of the wrong glass, didn't you, you stupid girl? You ruined everything," he growled and stalked forward, "and now he's dead because of you." He jerked a thumb toward the dead bishop.

Jamie stepped forward so that he once again blocked Sophie from his older brother's gaze. Pippen met his eyes and then looked away with snort.

"Still playing loyal guard, Jamie?" Pippen crossed his arms and smirked. "You know, you're right: you don't have what it takes for the throne. And you want to know why?" Jamie met his brother's stare with a steely one of his own, but there was hesitation behind that determination and Pippen saw it. He grinned as he went on, "Because you're the white knight.  Nothing but the cute little guard.  And the kingdom needs a _king_."

He waited until Jamie's shoulder's sagged before he continued with a satisfied smirk, "Just be smart and stay here. Leave the stone to me."

Pippen left the room in a twirl, sauntering out without another word. Caleb followed closely, once he'd determined he wasn't going to die from the poisoned wine. He spared a condescending glance to Jamie and Sophie as he left, but otherwise just left the two alone.

The youngest two stood in heavy silence over the dead bishop. Sophie rung her hands nervously and threw anxious looks toward her brother while Jamie paced. Finally, when she couldn't take the silence any longer, she darted in front of Jamie.

"You have to go, Jamie."

"I can't, Soph. You heard him, and you know he's right."

"Since when do you listen to Pippen? Alright," She changed tactics quickly when Jamie's crestfallen expression didn't change, "if you won't do it because it best for the kingdom, and it is Jamie, then do it for our survival."

 Jamie only looked at her in confusion and she rolled her eyes in exasperation. Honestly, was she the only one with any brains in this family?

"Do you really think for a second that Pippen will let us live when he gets the stone? Or that it'll be Caleb who will win the throne, even if he gets the stone first?" Jamie had to nod at that; Caleb wasn't exactly the sharpest of his siblings, and Pippen could easily take him out if he got to the stone.

"You'd be a potential threat to his crown," she went on, seeing that Jamie was coming around, "and he hates me.  He hates women in general, but me in particular. He always has. We won't last a week, hell a day, with Pippen as king, and you know it."

Jamie sighed and deflated, "What'll you have me do? Kill them both before they can hurt us, just like father taught me?"

"You just have to get to the stone first. Once you're king you can do whatever you want to deal with them. Banish them, lock them in the dungeons. But we're both dead if you don't do something." Jamie was still silent, looking so fore lone. But he knew his younger sister was right.

"Jamie please," she begged with those green eyes wet in frantic tears, "please do this. For the good of the kingdom, for me, for you, whatever gets you moving. Just please!  I don’t want to die."

Jamie sighed again. "When'd you go and get all wise on me?"

"Someone in the family had to be." She gave him a shy, sad smile. Jamie laughed.

"I'll go, Soph. I'll try, and if something goes wrong….if I fail, I want you to get out of here. Go, make a life for yourself, a real life."

Sophie nodded and the tears were back. She gave a delicate sniff and threw herself at Jamie, and buried her face in his broad chest as she tried not to cry. Jamie rubbed her back soothingly and held her tight as he realized this may be the last time he ever saw his beloved baby sister.

"Don't let anything go wrong, Jamie. I don't want to lose you; you're the only real family I have."

Jamie nodded a placed a sweet kiss in her hair. Then he pushed Sophie back and kissed her brow.

"Be safe," she whispered. The older nodded and turned on his heels to make for the stables. His brothers had a substantial head start, he needed to catch up.

He left Sophie staring at the portrait with her hands clasped over her chest. Now would be a good time to start praying, she thought to herself as her gaze flicked from the painted figure of her mother, brother and older sister, and back.

Too bad the bishop was dead.

#

Aster sighed in misery as he forced one foot in front of the other. He'd carried the new star over his shoulder for a total of five miles so far, and it was by far the longest walk of his life. And, to add suffering to misery, the kid hadn't stopped screaming his lungs out the entire way until he'd finally, blessedly, fallen asleep. Thank the heavens that stars sleep during the day, Aster thought with a grateful upward glance. Then he winced as he remembered that there were still nearly a hundred miles between them and the workshop.

With that disheartening thought, Aster decided that it was time for a breather.  He shifted the sleeping boy off of his shoulder to lean him up against a tree trunk. Rolling the stiffness out of his shoulder – the kid didn't weigh all that much, but Aster had been carrying his dead weight for several hours – the giant rabbit tried to think of his next move.

He needed to contact the others, that much was clear. They were sure to be getting worried now that Aster had been gone several hours on errand that should have taken a few minutes at most. That in mind, Aster made his way to the nearby river, following the sound of rushing water as he went. He muttered an enchantment over the water and waited for the ripples to clear and his friends' faces to appear.  He would need to make this quick. The river was just inside of the trees, but the boy was out of his sight and that was a dangerous thing given the situation. North's worried face filled the calmed portion of the river and Aster put his thought on hold.

"Bunny!" The big man shouted, his voice garbled in transmission. "This is not as fast as you promised."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Ran into a slight snag."

"Snag, what snag?"

"Tell ya in a sec. Nightlight and Sandy there?" In reply, the two stars shoved their ways into the frame. "Right. So, I found yer 'brother', and he just so happens ta be specialized in Winter elemental magic."

The three guardians gave sympathetic winces. "Should one of us come in your stead?" North suggested.

It was an appealing idea.  Aster had known the kid for just a few hours and he was already sick of the boy. But he shook his head.

"Nah. I don't think it's the fact that I’m affiliated with Spring that's the problem. Winter's a volatile season; it's bound ta react this way this way with any magic. Sendin' anyone else out here is just gonna leave more of us stranded out here."

"And we do not want that," North said for agreement. Aster nodded and made to end the conversation when Nightlight forced his way back into Aster's line of sight.

"Our brother, how is he?"

Aster snorted and shook his head fondly. "Looks like 'e hurt his leg in the landing, but 'e's in tip -top shape otherwise. Sure has got a healthy set of lungs on him, I’ll tell ya that. Kid's gonna make up fer all the years of silence we got from Sandy and Night," Aster declared with a frown. "I’m surprised my ears aren't bleeding. Kid's name is Jack, by the way." The giant rabbit had managed to get that out of the star in between the bouts of high-pitched screaming.

"Perhaps boy is displeased with his guide?" North suggested with an evil glint in his eyes.

"I’m a fine guide, Nicki," Aster jabbed back and then he sobered. "The kid's young, in every sense. And 'e's got it in his head that 'e can go home."

The mischievous smile dropped off North's face. The big man looked off to where Nightlight and Sandy were and then back to Aster with a sigh.

"Is a difficult realization for the boy."

"Yeah, and I’m hopin' Sandy and Night will explain it better when we get to the workshop. I don't think 'e'll believe me.”  He let that hang in the air for a moment.  Then he rolled the tension out of his shoulder again and climbed back to his feet. "I’ve gotta go; don' wanna leave the kid alone for too long. We'll be at the workshop in a few days. I'll be in contact."

Aster broke the connection as North nodded and sighed. Then he climbed to his feet and made his way back to the sleeping star.

The white haired boy looked utterly peaceful as he lounged against the trunk of the tree. He looked young and sweet and not at all like the little hellion he'd proven himself to be. Jack was a lot better company when he was asleep, that was for sure. Aster snorted at that thought and settled down next to the boy. A little shut eye wouldn't hurt anything and they both needed it, Aster told himself as he dropped off into sleep.

#

Pitch looked down at the little black rectangular stones in his hand and smiled at the little symbols all facing up at him. He was making good time, and according to the runes in his hand, he was closing in on the star. He closed his fingers around the runes and made his way back to his steed. Ah, it really is so nice to have magic again, he thought to himself as he stroked the dark horse's sand-like mane.

It was a creature darker than the night, of his own creation. A Nightmare in more than just name. It had been so long since he'd been able to summon his creations, and it felt so good to have one by his side again.

With less than half a hard day's ride astride the powerful steed, Pitch came across a camp site. The man hunched over the roaring fire – cooking some kind of meat on a spittle from the looks of it – was almost ape like in his appearance. He had a stub nose with a mouth that was in a perpetual sour frown and a perpetually sagging jaw. The only hair on his head was a puff of red-orange fuzz on the peak of his skull.

Pitch knew him well. Not in an overly friendly way, as men like him didn't have many friends, but still, they knew each other.  The dark wizard dismounted and made his way over. The other man's head snapped up, and he jumped to his first defense: sniveling.

"Who are you? What do you want from me? I'm just—"

"No need to cower, Raju. I mean you no harm. Not this day, anyway." The other man blinked up at him in confusion and Pitch sneered. Then Raju's eyes lit in recognition and a smile split over his face.

"Pitch? Pitch Black?" He crowed like he'd found a long lost, beloved sibling. "My, my, look at you. Shaved off a few of those nasty years, didn't ya?"

"And you've seemed to have picked them up."

"Yeah, well," Raju rubbed at the numerous age lines and jowls of his face, "not all of can be as fortunate in the years as you. What can I do you for?"

"I'd like some of your meal."

"I'll pull you up a seat," Raju said in agreement. He glanced over his shoulder at his little broken down wagon and snapped his fingers.

A swirl of blue-green smoke circled around a small hummingbird of the same color that was perched on a peg mounted on the side of the pitiful wagon Raju called home. When the smoke cleared, there was a dainty women with dark hair and violet eyes in its place. Pitch raised a brow and studied the girl as she pulled a crate over for him to sit. She was dressed in little more than rags of that bluish color, with a thin silver chain wrapped around her delicate ankle. If the sour frown on her dark yet angelic face was anything to go by, she was not happy about her current state. She placed the crate down, angrily, next to Pitch and then turned to face Raju.

"Anything else?" She snapped with an angry glare. When Raju just smiled, serenely with a predatory edge, the girl sighed in resignation. "Is there any other way I can serve you, Master?" She asked again, with a more pleasant tone.

"No," Raju said simply, and with another snap of his fingers the girl was back to a chained little hummingbird. Pitch gave an impressed look at the bird and then sent the look over to Raju. "Nice, isn't she?" Raju boasted with a glowing smile. "A princess. A stupid princess, looking to get away from her terrible father, just for a little while. And so I say to her 'I'll take you away, show you things you could never even imagine'." Raju laughed in cold cruelty. "The stupid girl was so desperate, she agreed with no conditions. Now I have a pretty, pretty slave to help around here."

"Congratulations, Raju," Pitch said in mild interest. But Raju just let out a hearty laugh as if Pitch had just given him the most sparkling of compliments as he stripped the meat of his spittle. Rabbit, from the looks of it. Pitch hummed happily and his stomach growled demandingly as he sat down.

"What'll be, Nightmare King? Heads, or tails?"

Pitch had to smile at the use of his famous name. "Heads," he decided.

Raju smiled almost giddily and divvied out the appropriate portions, each with a sprinkle of scented grass for seasoning. The two men ate in silence for a time, with only the crackle of fire between them. Once the food was consumed, Pitch found that he felt light and almost pleased to be in Raju's company. Odd, considering he'd just barely been able to tolerate Raju's existence just a few moments before.

"So, tell me, what brings you out this way, Nightmare King?" Raju asked pleasantly. It had the hairs on the back of Pitch's neck standing on end, but the dark man found himself responding like he was in a chipper mood.

"I seek a Fallen star. He Fell not too far from here, just a sweet little lad. And when I find him I'll cut him to ribbons and carve out his heart as he begs and pleads for life," Pitch sighed happily and blissfully closed his eyes at the thought. "The glory of my youth will be fully restored, forever more."

Pitch opened his eyes slowly and frowned in confusion. He glanced down at the empty platter and gave a delicate sniff. And his face darkened in fury as he recognized the scent still upon the plate's surface. How dare he…

"A Fallen star? Really? Now there's a piece of news, isn't it? I could stand to lose of few of these years myself," he patted his face for emphasis. "Now, tell me, where exactly did you say—"

"How dare you?" Pitch snapped tossing the platter to the side and Raju jumped when it shattered on the ground. "How dare you steal truth from me? Did you honestly think I wouldn't notice, Raju?"

"Now hold on. Just wait a minute, Pitch," Raju began as he tried to scramble away. The dark spirit just knocked the retreating man off his feet and pinned him to the ground with a blast of shadow magic. Raju withered under the crushing weight and looked pleadingly up at its wielder.

"I meant no disrespect. I won't seek the star, I promise."

Pitch growled in anger and insult, but he slowly lightened the shadow's power. He couldn't kill Raju, as pleasing as that would be. It would take too much magic, and using too much power would counteract the effects of the star's heart. Raju wasn't worth deteriorating into a decrepit lump of flesh again. However, he couldn't have the meddlesome man going after his star either, and for that he could spare some magic.

"You can seek all you wish," Pitch said calmly, twirling another handful of magic. He shot it toward Raju before the other man could scramble away. "But you will not find him. You will not see the star, touch it, smell it, or hear it. Even should he stand before you, he will be little more than a ghost to your presence."

With the spell cast, Pitch allowed the magic to lift. Raju blinked in confusion as he slumped on the ground and Pitch stumbled against the sudden shift in his magic. The dark man snarled and skewered the man on the ground with a glare.

"You best pray that you don't meet me again, Raju. Next time, I won't be so forgiving."

Pitch turned on his heels and stalked over to his Nightmare, leaving Raju blinking in confusion on the ground and the little princess-trapped-as-a-bird flittering on her perch.

#

Pippen frowned in annoyance as he looked down at the stupid little stones in his palm. No matter how many times he demanded they tell him the way to go, the runes gave him gibberish answers. How could anyone read these, they were useless!

"Tell me where my stone is!" He screeched as he tossed the runes into the air once again. And once again, the stones landed in his hand with no clear answer. Half of the symbols of the wood like surface were facing up, and the other half faced down.

Pippen scowled. He was supposed to have servants to deal with things like this. As king, future king though that may have been, Pippen was supposed to have legions of worthless servants to worry over these details. In fact, he had one, a soothsayer, who was meant to handle the runes. But that stupid soothsayer made Pippen kill him. Pippen found that the stupid old man was working for Caleb, and then he'd had to kill the only person able read these stupid little stones!

"Your majesty."

Pippen aborted his attempt to toss the offending stones away and turned toward the man who had spoken. He didn't know his name – kings didn't bother themselves with learning the names of their servants – the man was just one of the group Pippen had brought along on his quest. Because no king traveled alone, either.

"What?!"

"If I may offer my humble wisdom?" He honestly wouldn't have paid the man any mind if he any other time, but Pippen was so frustrated that he waved for the man to continue. "You must ask the runes a direct question, and question them for a yes or no answer. If the symbols are facing up, it will mean yes," the man explained patiently, managing to do so without sounding like he was telling the prince anything he didn't already know. It was the only way to survive around the temperamental royal.

Pippen glanced down at the stones once more. "Do we move north to find my stone?" He asked and tossed the runes up once more. This time, they landed with the symbols all facing up at him. Pippen grinned and whirled around to his horse.

"We ride north," he announced.

X

Caleb urged the horses pulling his carriage – all heirlooms from his father – to a quicker pace. His runes said that the stone was very close now, just a little further to the north. The sun was setting; if he pushed the horses just a little bit more, he could reach the next town and stop for the night.

It's not like there was that much of a rush, he thought with a grin. His soothsayer would keep Pippen on a wild goose chase for a good long while yet, and Jamie didn’t have enough a back-bone to fight for the stone. He had time all the time in the world.

X

Just to the east, Jamie pushed his steed as hard as he dared. He'd long left the palace behind him, but he'd still yet to see his brothers and his runes said that the stone was still a good hundred miles to the north. Jamie's heart twisted at the thought; if he didn't get to the stone first….

He forcibly shook that thought away, and he once again snapped his horse's bridle. The sun was setting, and he needed to get as much ground covered as possible before dark if he had any hope to catch up.

#

It was twilight by the time Pitch stopped again, leaving Raju long forgotten behind him. He was close now, so close, he could feel it. The star was almost in his grasp. It only figured that this was when things decided to become difficult.

He tossed the runes again, and was disappointed to see the same nonsense answer. He threw them again, but it was no use: he was either too close to the star, or their paths were on a collision course. Pitch would need more than his runes to be sure which. He didn’t want to resort to this as it was such a strain on his magic, but it seemed he had little choice.

Pitch sighed, and closed his eyes to concentrate on the presence of his lair. It was quite the distance by now, which required all the more magic to summon what he needed. Pitch grunted in effort, and in a swirl of shadows a small ferret was deposited from his lair to his feet. He cut the little thing open before it could so much as squeak.

Pitch shifted through the bloody intestines, almost distracted, and then grinned at what he saw. So, the little star was little more than a mile away, and with the right nudging, the boy would come right to him. Pitch straightened, and examined the clearing in which he found himself. It was as good a place for a trap as any, he decided. A trap, he mused. Yes, because the Fear was always better when it came from a glowing heart, and the boy needed to be completely at peace for that. With that thought, the dark spirit turned back to his Nightmare, who totted gleefully to its master.

"Bring me the boy," Pitch ordered softly. "I'm sure the dear thing must be so frightened, and looking for assistance." The horse nickered in amusement and dashed off to do Pitch's bidding.

Nodding in approval, Pitch turned back to the clearing. Now, in what form was the trap best set?

#

Jack woke slowly and stretched his aching, stiff limbs. He had a brief moment of bliss in which the events of the last day didn't touch his mind. And then it all came crashing back.

Jack groaned and rubbed a hand over his face. Right, he'd Fallen, and that thought brought just as much pain as it had the first time he thought about. Then he'd been kidnapped by a giant rabbit that said he couldn't go home. Who, Jack noted with a hint of relief as he scanned the dark trees, didn't seem to be around. With that in mind, Jack forced himself to his feet.

Ok, ow, Jack thought with a wince. His leg was still hurting something terrible, in fact it seemed to be worse than the other day. Jack shook his head a prepped himself for pain as he moved. Because if he was going to get home, and just as importantly get away before that rabbit came back, he needed to move fast. If that meant sucking up a bit – or a lot, a whole lot – of pain, then Jack would do it. Easier said than done, but it was the effort that mattered.

The boy had made it all of two, agonizing steps when the rustling of leaves in front of him halted his progress. Jack tensed, fearing that the rabbit, Aster if he remembered correctly, was back. Instead, a beautiful black horse emerged from the bushed and tossed its flowing mane. The creature slowly made its way to stand before Jack and the boy stared in awe.

It was gorgeous! It was like a slab of ebony brought to life, with two eyes of bright gold. Jack had never seen anything quite like it.

Jack reached forward slowly until his fingertips were a breath away from the horse's snout. The creature snorted and bowed forward to close the distance, and Jack smiled gleefully.

The horse's skin was warm and smooth beneath his hand. He petted the inky creature contently for a time until it snorted again and knelt before him. Jack blinked and then smiled once more. He mounted, awkwardly and with much pain in his leg, and sat uncomfortably astride the steed.

A deep part of his mind screamed that something was wrong with this situation, but Jack had no chance to dwell on the feeling, as the horse started forward in a trot as soon as Jack was settled on its back. After that, Jack forgot about the feeling, enthralled in the new experience of horseback riding as the steed carried him off into the trees.

Behind them, hidden in shadows and twitching in a nightmare ridden slumber, Aster lay against the tree, unaware that his charge was being delivered straight to the lions' den.


	4. Beware helpful Strangers

It was raining heavily by the time Jack and the horse came in sight of the inn, and Jack was soaked to the bone. He shivered as his soaping cloak clung to his body, offering no protection from the increasing down pour and the icy wind. 

He tried to shake away his discomfort, and instead studied the inn as he approached.  It was a good-sized building, squared in it shape with two floors and many warmly lit windows. The sign hanging just out front displayed the outline of a black horse rearing on its hind legs under the words 'Night Inn'. Jack smiled at that and patted the neck of the black horse he was currently astride. If that wasn't a sign that he was in the right place, Jack didn't know what was.

Besides, going into the inn was much warmer than staying outside. So all in all, it was a no brainer for Jack to make his way over to the building. Jack dismounted and gave the horse another pat as he limped to the door. It opened before Jack could even knock, bathing him in a wave of warmth, just as he covered a sneezed with the back of his hand. The woman inside gave a delicate gasp at the sight of him.

"Oh dear, come in, out of this retched rain!" She fussed over him as she gently ushered him inside.

Jack followed her without resistance, only sending a quick glance behind him as he went. He felt a small twinge of guilt and unease for leaving without the giant rabbit, but he cast it aside as the woman wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

"You poor dear," she cooed. "You're wet to the bone and shaking like a leaf. And look at your poor little leg."

"Yeah, I seem to have twisted it." Jack smiled shyly.

He liked this woman; she as sweet, if a bit scatter-brained. She reminded him of some of the mothers he'd seen over the years and it made he him feel at ease around her.

"Well, don't you worry. I'll draw you a bath and have my husband fix you a room. A nice hot bath and good night's sleep will fix you right up."

"Oh, no. I really don't want to be a bother."

"Nonsense," a new voice sounded.

Jack turned to examine the man as he made his way over to them. A sudden chill ran down Jack's spine at the sight of him and he found the man a bit frightening, for some reason that he couldn't really put his finger on. He was tall, with dark hair and sun-kissed skin and a pair a silver-gold eyes. Nothing that should have made Jack as uneasy as he was, but still….

"We live to serve our customers," the man continued with a bright smile, and suddenly Jack felt very foolish for feeling so afraid. Jack offered his own smile.

"I do appreciate this, sir."

"Think nothing of it. And it's Peter."

"I'm Jack," the boy said, offering his hand. The innkeeper shook it firmly and gave Jack another warm smile.

"Welcome to my inn, Jack. Darling," Peter turned to the woman, who was still fussing over Jack, "why don't you draw the boy a bath, and sprinkle in some herbs for that limp."

"Of course. Come along, my dear. Let's get you out of those soaping clothes."

Jack let the woman pull him along while the man made his way to the open door. The man made eye contact with the dark horse that stood guard outside, and he smiled. Unlike the grins that had made Jack feel so at ease, this smirk was full of sharp, jagged teeth and predatory intent. He gave a nod to the Nightmare, and gently shut the door.

'Easy,' he though with another grin, 'much, much too easy'. Then he slipped back into the role of innkeeper as he turned back to the boy-star. Getting the star here may have been easy, but now came the hard part of making Jack feel comfortable. He needed the boy at peace, and his heart aglow before he could fill it with fear.

Only then could he cut it out of the boy's little chest.

#

Back in the woods, Aster lay in the same position against the tree, twitching restlessly as nightmares snared his sleeping mind. The nightmare started out the way all of his bad dreams did; with the death of his people.

It was the smell of smoke, of burning homes and burning flesh, that woke the child Aster.  At first, he just sat blinking in confusion until the sounds of screaming brought him to full awareness. It frightened him, the terrible shrilled screams sounding outside his door. He was just a child, not even ten years old, and he was scared. So he stayed huddled in his nest for what felt like hours, curled in tightly on himself and trembling. Then his father busted into the room and he jumped with a yelp before giving a relived shout.

"Papa!" Aster reached up for him, seeking the safety of his father's embrace.

The elder Pooka, Eamon Aster, rushed forward and scooped his son up into his arms without a word. Then he dashed outside, keeping Aster's face buried in his shoulder the best he could as he went. But still, Aster could see glimpses of shadow monsters flying around the village, and flashes of flaming houses. The child hid his face more firmly when he caught sight of the bodies scattered around them and he clutched to his father for comfort. He tried to hold back tears and folded his ears against the dying screams that rang out throughout the village as his father ran.

When Eamon came to a stop and tried to loosen Aster's arms from around his neck, the child Pooka only clung tighter.

"Aster, I need ya ta let go."

"Don't leave me, Papa," Aster sobbed as he clutched his father's neck even tighter.

"I swear I'll come back for you, Aster, but I need to find yer mum and brother. So ya need ta stay here so I know yer safe. All right?"

The child nodded in understanding, but his bottom lip still trembled.

"I'm scared, Papa."

Aster finally let his father put him down and place him in the shadows of a hollowed tree. Eamon stroked the child's ears comfortingly where they were folded tight against his little head.  Aster shivered under the touch, and his father continued the gentle touch until Aster's frightened trembles subsided. Then he nuzzled the center of on his son's brow comfortingly.

"It'll be okay, Aster," he said gently, "I promise. Now, stay here, and stay quiet. I'll be back soon." Edmond rearranged two bushes in front of the tree so that Aster was completely hidden, then he dashed off again.

Aster peeked out from the gaps between the leaves and watched with pride as his father mowed through a number of the shadow monsters as he ran. Eamon stopped for a moment to guide a mother and child, ones that the monsters had been harassing, to safety before he moved to destroy more of the monsters. The child silently cheered with a small smile as he watched.

These monsters were in so much trouble now, his father was going to take them all down. Aster grin and gave a little shake as a victory dance when his father tore through another one of the monsters.

Then the blood drained from his face as a decidedly more solid shadow, this one hunched in on itself as it awkwardly limped, slinked up behind his father. Aster opened his mouth to shout a warning, despite his father's order to stay quiet, but he was too late. The shadow figure plunged his weapon into Eamon's back, and Aster let out a breathy shriek as his father crumpled to the ground. The figure whirled around at the sound and Aster shrank further into the shadows of the tree as he caught sight of a pair of golden eyes. Those eyes swept over his hiding spot for a terrible second, glinted with cruelty. When he found nothing, the figure turned to address his shadow monsters.

"Kill them all. Destroy every one of them." With that the figure stumbled off, and the shadow creatures darted off once more. Then the screams started up again, louder than ever before.

Aster wept silently, and stared at his father's still form and the blood pooling around him. Then he curled in on himself and, unable to look any longer.  He hid his face in his knees, and clapped both hands over his ears.  He stayed like that until the screaming stopped.

He hid; that was the thing that haunted Aster most about that day. He didn't try to fight the monsters, didn't try to find help, didn't do anything but hide in the bushes like a coward while everyone around him died.

After a long while, when everything had been silent for what felt like hours, Aster climbed out of his hiding place. The ground under him was stained and soaked with blood, and there were mangled bodies everywhere. But the child Pooka didn't have eyes for anything but the body of his father.  Aster stumbled over to him in a half trance-like state. Then he knelt down and gave Eamon's shoulder a hesitant shake.

"Papa," he whispered with desperate hope. Because despite the logic and the facts right before his eyes, Aster couldn't believe his father was dead. Not when he promised everything would be okay. "Papa, wake up. Please wake up. Come on, Papa, wake up."

But Eamon didn't wake up, and as much as Aster hated to admit it, he never would. Aster surged to his feet with an aching heart and tears clouding his sight. He spun around, desperate to find someone, anyone, who was still alive. He needed to know everything was going to be okay. But more than anything, he wanted his mother.

"Mama!" He shouted in a tear-strained voice. When there was no answer, he dashed off full speed through the smoldering remains of his village. "Mama! Mama, please, I need you. Mama! Somebody! Anybody! Help me, please!"

She didn't answer. Nobody answered. Still he ran about the village and screamed for someone to answer until his throat was raw. After that, he wandered numbly back to Eamon and curled up in a ball against the body. He did his best to pretend that it was a normal day off, when his father didn't have to go to work around the village, and he and Aster would lounge together, reading or telling stories all day long.  If he tried hard enough, Aster could almost convince himself that he could hear the steady thump of his father’s heart.  

He curled up tighter against his father’s body, and wept and sobbed in terror and horror.  That was how North found him; huddled up against his dead father in a pile of bodies and calling out for his equally dead mother.

 Here the dream shifted, before Aster had to remember North pulling him away, kicking and screaming and crying from his father's body.

The scene warped and settled to the image of a field, and a ball of purple-white light that streaked across the sky and plowed into the earth. Aster watched as the glow faded and the form of a young girl emerged. He'd never really seen this, but he'd imagined it hundreds of times. This was his greatest failure, worse even the day of Eamon's death.

The girl – Katherine, his subconscious reminded him, would never let him forget – wandered about her crater for hours. Her cloudy, gray eyes looked at everything around her in the pure wonder of a child. She smiled and brushed a strand of curly brown hair behind her ear as she climbed out of the crater.

That was how Pitch found her. The old man, hunched over as he was the day he killed Aster's father and ordered his people destroyed, smiled sweetly and offered a hand to the girl, and Aster's heart clenched when Katherine took it and trustingly let Pitch lead her away. The little girl just smiled, and willing followed as the dark wizard led her to her death.

Aster had been hundreds of miles away when this happened.  He was watching the lights meant to call the Guardians, and steadily ignoring the call.  He was laying on the ground of his Warren, sick to his stomach and empty and unwilling to even move.

It had been just over ten years since his people had been killed, slaughtered, and Aster hadn't been ready to come back into the world, so he'd ignored the call. But it wasn't an excuse, and the Pooka knew it. He had reached full maturity by that point, had gone through the process of immortality. He was the last of his kind, and as an adult, he had the responsibility to that star, a responsibility that was held sacred by his people. But instead of taking that to heart, he'd hidden. Which left North, Nightlight and Sandy to look for the star.  With the two older stars unable to go out into the world with all manner of evil out looking for Fallen stars, North was the only one who could go to retrieve the girl.  And North hadn't been fast enough.

By the time the bearded man arrived at the sight of the Fall, Katherine was long gone. It was only then that Aster came out of hiding.  The idea of a star in the hands of one of the dark powers in the world finally grated enough at his instincts to force him into action. Even with Aster’s help it was still too late.

They scoured the earth for days, searching desperately for the girl and they'd found her, oh, had they found her. Pitch had left her in the crater of her Fall, likely as a jab at them.

The dark spirit had tortured her, for days. He'd broken each of her fingers, shattered her knees, cut at her face until she was unrecognizable. He'd cut the girl, cut her open, broke every one of her bones. Only then had he killed her; he'd cut out her heart while she was still alive. Then, Pitch had dumped her body, stripped of all clothes to show off every torment.

And just to make sure that the Guardians found her, he'd called them. He'd sent a ghostly image of himself to the Pole, fully revitalized in youth, to tell them just where they could find Katherine.

Aster remembered that night with sickening clarity. He remembered it was a warm night, the crickets were singing, the moon was full and the stars were shining brightly. The Pooka tore out of the workshop as fast as he could when they'd gotten the message. He knew, somewhere deep in his mind, that if Pitch was taunting them that the girl was already dead. But he couldn't accept it, he refused to accept it. He couldn't handle a failure of that magnitude, a failure of everything he was raised to cherish. So he ran as fast as he could to find her.

Aster was the first to arrive at the crater, the first to see Katherine. She was crumbled at the bottom of the crater like a broken doll. Bloody and broken, with her eyes still wide with horror and pain even as they stared up at the sky, unseeing in death.

Aster remembered his own horror, the way he'd sunk to the ground and just stared. Remembered the guilt that wanted to eat him alive. This was his fault, all his fault.

When the others arrived, they tried to tell him it wasn't true, that it wasn't his fault. Tried to convince him that it was Pitch's fault, and no one else's, but he knew better. He was the one who was responsible for this girl, for this child. He was the one who was supposed to look after her. He was the one who was honor bound, by the laws of his people, to protect Fallen stars, with his own life, if necessary.

His failure, his failure, his fault!

" _Don't fail this one_."

Aster jolted in shock, even in his sleep. That voice wasn't a part of his subconscious, it wasn't part of his nightmare. It was a warm, kind voice, and most definitely wasn't a part of him.

" _Wake up, Aster. You must wake up now, and protect the boy._ "

Aster woke with a jolt and a barely restrained scream, breathing heavily. He looked around in confusion and rubbed at his gritty eyes to rid himself of the nightmare. Nearly five centuries, and those nightmares still haunted him, and frightened him.

He got his breathing under control, and then forced himself to think back on the nightmare. The memories of the loss of his family and people, that he understood; he always had nightmares about that. Not as many as he used to, but they were still fairly regular. But the other half of the nightmare, the one centered around Katherine, that didn’t make sense.  He hadn't been present for the majority of those events.  He couldn't have known about them.  So why would he have been dreaming about it?

Was it just his imagination, what he thought happened, brought to the front of his mind by the presence of another star? Was it because he had the chance to protect Jack now, like he hadn't been able, hadn't been willing to do for Katherine? He didn't know.  And speaking of Jack….

Aster forced his head over to where the boy had been sleeping, suddenly eager to check on him. And his heart dropped into his stomach when he saw nothing. Jack was gone.

Aster jumped to his feet and ran a ten-foot perimeter of the forest around the tree, hoping the boy hadn't gotten far. He couldn't have, right? Not on that leg and not by himself. Yet he returned to the tree empty handed. No Jack. The boy was gone.

Aster collapsed against the tree in despair. He'd failed. He'd failed Jack just as he had Katherine, and now the innocent young boy was going to suffer the same fear and agony and horror as that sweet young girl. The Pooka cradled his head into his hands and rocked as tears built up behind his eyes. He failed, he was a failure, a failure.

" _Not yet_ ," the same voice from his nightmare whispered to him. Aster looked up to see that he engulfed in soft moonlight. The Moon, the spirit that watched over the stars. He'd woken Aster from his nightmare, given him the opportunity to see that Jack was gone.

" _There's still time_."

Still time, still time to save Jack. He could protect the boy, could still save him like he should have saved Katherine.

" _Run,_ " the Moon urged and Aster nodded.

Aster knelt down on all fours and gave a sniff. It was hard to find the boy's scent as the rain had washed much of it away. But it was still there, and Aster's nose was strong enough to find it. He soon caught a whiff of Jack's scent – cold and crisp like snow with a hunt of peppermint and vanilla – mingled with traces of Pitch's scent.  The man had sent one of his minions to take the boy.

Aster growled low in his chest, the instinct to protect spreading through all of his being. He bolted through the woods, still on all fours, following Jack's scent, and hoping that he wasn't too late, this time.

Hang on, kid, he prayed.  Just hang on. I'm coming.

#

Caleb shivered at the ice-cold rain poured down on him and trickled down the nape of his neck. He glared down at his runes and pulled his hood tighter around his head to better shield himself. Caleb pouted and thought over his options. He'd seen an inn about a mile back, and if he turned back now he could stay there for the night. That, he decided, sounded like a great idea.

Besides, it wasn't like there was too much of a rush, he added with a smirk. Caleb was a good day ahead of his brothers, and his runes told him the stone was close, very close. He could spend the night in a nice, warm, dry inn, and find the stone in the morning. Then, he would be king of Stormhold. Caleb smiled at the thought and quickly directed his carriage back toward the inn.

#

The boy was glowing by the time he was wrapped snuggly in a bath robe and being led to the finest room the inn had to offer. Really, truly glowing with a pure white light outlining his head, the surest sign that a star was at peace and perfectly happy. Pitch had to fight a hungry grin at the sight of it.  All he'd had to do was give the boy a full meal, a warm bath and a place to sleep, and the boy was putty in his hands. 

This was so easy, it almost spoiled his appetite.  Almost.

"I really do appreciate all you've done for me, Peter."

Pitch pulled himself out of his darker thoughts and offered the boy a warm, closed lip smile. It's counter-productive to frighten the boy now, he reminded himself. No matter how tempting it may be.

"As I said, we live to please our guests. You seem happier."

"I am happier," Jack said eagerly. "That bath did me a world of good. My leg feels good as new."

"Glad to hear it. Now, my wife will take you up to your room, a good night's rest will get you back to your old self like nothing else," Pitch said in a chipper voice.

"Oh, I really don't…I don't sleep well at night."

"Don't worry, I'll bring you up something to help you sleep."

Jack just smiled and let the women lead him up the stairs. Pitch watched them go, keeping that disgustingly pleasant smile on his face until the boy was out of sight. Only then did he let his teeth show in a feral grin. It was show time.

He turned on his heels and waltzed over to the bag of tools he'd packed for the occasion. He pulled the bag open and reached in to retrieve a long blade that was about the length of his arm. He smiled as he studied the knife, and ran his finger, grey once more, now that he'd allowed the glamor portraying him as the kindly innkeeper 'Peter' to fall away, along the sharp blade that was dark as night. This was for the finale, for when he ripped out little Jack's still beating heart. But Pitch had all night, at the very least, for that. Now was the time for fun.

So he put the knife to the side with a blissful sigh and an almost loving smile, and reached back into the bag. Pitch had brought all manner of torture instruments for this. Tools that cut, that burned, that broke bones and skewered into flesh.  Things that will make young Jack's eyes go wide and his heart tremble in fear, Pitch thought with a grin. But first he needed the boy secure, and for that, Pitch brought out a small mallet. A good blow to the head would knock Jack out for some hours – and Pitch did promise to bring something to get the boy to sleep – and leave him with a nasty headache when he woke. It was the perfect overture to the night that would follow.

With that in mind, Pitch gathered up his bag and made his way upstairs. He passed his 'wife' as he went, and she gave him a nod that said Jack was in bed and that it was time for Pitch to go in. They shared equally frightening looks as he made his way up the stairs. Pitch limped ever so slightly as he moved, pain in his joints flaring up. The use of the glamor and the magic needed to create the inn had taken its toll. Pitch's condition was degenerating; he was reverting back to that pitiful lump of flesh.

Not for much longer, he reminded himself to stave off the feeling of panic the thought brought. There was no need to ration magic now, that was why he'd gone all out. He took a calming breath as he came to the room holding his prize and pushed the door open, slowly and quietly. He gently set the bag down by the door as he moved to the boy's bed.

Jack was lying flat on his back with his eyes closed peacefully as he tried to drift off into sleep. Pitch smiled as he approached the boy, the great knife in one hand and the mallet in the other. He couldn't wait to get started.

But just as he had the mallet raised to strike the boy's forehead, there was a knock at the door downstairs. Pitch looked toward the sound sharply and Jack peeked an eye open. He lurched up with a gasp as he took in the sight of the innkeeper, now with oddly grey skin, looming over him with a weapon posed to strike. The taller man acted quickly, dropping the mallet to clap a hand over Jack's mouth before he could scream, and pinning him to the bed. Jack whimpered against his hand, and looked up at him with wide, terrified eyes. Pitch smirked and deeply inhaled the scent of Fear pulsing off the boy.

More pounding sounded from down stairs, followed by a muffled "hello?" and Pitch sighed. He would have to deal with a that, Pitch noted and he racked his brain for a course of action as the sound of an opening door signaled his 'wife' had let the stranger inside. He made eye contact with Jack, and brought the knife up so that it was right under the frightened boy's nose, and then trailed it down to his exposed throat.

"Make one sound and I will cut you open," he warned. Pitch pressed the tip of the knife to the point of breaking the skin before he withdrew it, and the hand over Jack’s mouth.

Jack kept dutifully quiet, sealing his lips over frightened whimpers. He kept silent even when shadows moved, seemingly of their own accord, to tangle in his limbs. Pitch watched with a small, pleased smile, and glanced over his shoulder as the man down stairs demanded 'the best room in the inn'. Pitch frowned at that.  He hadn't made the woman he'd overshadowed into his 'wife' to be particularly intelligent, just sweet and calming, and she would likely bring the man straight up to the best room the inn had to offer. Which happened to be the room housing Pitch and a trembling star.

That could be a problem, he noted. With that in mind, Pitch stood up and made to move for the door.

"What are you doing? Why are you doing this?"

Pitch just smiled as he leaned back over the bed. He 'tsked' the boy and flicked the tip of his nose, scolding.

"Now, Jack. I told you to keep quiet." With that another strand of shadows closed over Jack's lips. "You just stay here. I'll be back as soon as I deal with this other guest."

Jack watched with wide eyes as the man turned on his heels and swept out of the room. When he was out of sight, Jack strained against the shadows. He didn't understand what was going on, or why the nice innkeeper was being so cruel. But he did know that he couldn't stay here and wait for the man to come back and…..do whatever it was he was planning. It couldn't be good if what he was planning involved that gigantic knife, that Jack knew for sure. And he definitely couldn't let however was down stairs fall into the same insane nightmare that Jack had.

So the star struggled and fought against his bounds.  With the desperate need to protect both himself and the stranger down stairs pulsing through his body, something sparked deep in Jack's chest. There was a crackle by his head and Jack turned to look at the source, and he stared in shock. The bounds around his wrist where frozen in brittle ice. He slowly raised his head and found the shadows around his ankles were the same. Jack didn't know how he did that, but that didn't matter, he needed to get down stairs. With that thought, Jack jerked and the restraints shattered. He sat up quickly and brushed his fingers over the gag to do away with it the same way. Then he dashed over to the door and pushed it open as quietly as he could.

#

The shivering prince pounded on the door until it felt like the wood of the door would split from the force of his fist. He'd knocked and shouted, but no one answered.

This was very poor service, he thought sulkily. He would have to ban all poor service as soon as he was king. Poor service would be punishable by death; that would be his first decree after his coronation.

The door suddenly opened and pulled him out of his musing. He sent the woman in the doorway a look that informed her of his annoyance at being made to wait.

"I'm accustom to better service," he said, sending all of his displeasure into his scowl.

"Oh dear, come in, out of this retched rain!" She chirped in worry.

Caleb raised a brow, but gladly did so. The doughy woman led him into the warmth of the inn and the prince sighed in happiness. He pulled his hood down and stared longingly at the warm tub to his left before he turned to the woman.

"I think your best room should suffice, all things considering."

"I'll have my husband fix you up a room. You poor dear," she cooed one more time.

Caleb just shook his head and stripped off his soaping cloak. He was making his way to the bath, and preparing to lose the rest of his wet clothes when the slap of bare feet brought his attention to the stairs. A young boy, just barely in his teens, dressed only in a white bath robe, dashed down the stairs and toward Caleb. His panic face lit up in relief at the sight of the prince as he made a bee-line for him. Caleb's eyes narrowed and he slowly reached for his sword.

"Please! Help me, please," the boy pleaded. "We have to get out—"

Jack was grabbed by the front of his robe and shoved into the nearest wall before he could finish. He blinked in confusion at the man, and then froze when he once again felt the sharp press of steel to his throat.

"Really, Pippen sends a boy to do his work now? Well, if he insists…"

"Wait, wait," Jack protested as he felt the tip of the blade press harder into his throat. "I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know a Pippen, I swear. But, you need to listen—"

"I am the future King of Stormhold. I don't need to listen to anything you say, boy," he trailed off and stared down at Jack's throat. There, hanging so it was barely visible above the line of the boy's robe, was a clear oval stone, dangling from a long golden chain.

"That stone," Caleb muttered under his breath in shock, "it can't be."

Caleb's hold loosened and Jack broke free. He dashed away from the man, and stared at him with wide eyes. The prince glared at him angrily and stalked forward. Jack matched each forward step with a retreating one.

"Give it to me. Give me the stone!"

"Fine! Fine, you can have it." Jack promised breathlessly, still keeping as much distance between himself and the man as he possibly could. "Just help me please. We need to get out of here before he—Look out!"

While Jack had been breathlessly and desperately trying to convince the man to get him out of this insane place, a dark shadow had slunk up behind the prince. Caleb made to turn and face the threat, but before he could, the dark figure pulled his head back and slit Caleb's throat open like a rip banana. A spray of blood splattered over Jack's cheek as the man crumpled, and the boy let out a horrified shriek. Pitch glanced up from his intense stare at the body and gave the star a chilling grin. Then he tsked and motioned to the growing pool of blood.

"Now look at what you've done. You killed this poor man."

Jack gaped at him in shock with his bottom lip trembling in terror.  Pitch’s sharp teeth flashed as he grinned at the boy’s terror.  Jack made a dash for the door. Pitch simply rolled his eyes and lunged after the boy, catching him before Jack made it more than a couple of steps. He hefted the boy into the air by his waist and tossed him to the ground.  Jack saw stars as his head hit the ground with a loud 'crack'. By the time he came back to his senses and tried to move away, Pitch already had him pinned. He tried to force the dark wizard off of him, but the strength of his teenage body was no match for the weight of a full-grown man, and all he managed was to slightly shift Pitch's hold. All his efforts did were amuse the man.

"No, no! You said you wouldn't, you said—" Jack thrashed again as Pitch raised the knife to strike.

"I told you to stay in your room, like a good boy. And you didn't. But if it makes you feel any better, Jack, this was going to happen regardless of any of your actions." Pitch smiled with cruel satisfaction and teasingly brushed the tip of the knife over Jack's chest, and his rapidly beating heart.

"Why?!" The question came out as a desperate whine as Pitch pulled the white robe apart to further expose Jack's chest. The man paused and met Jack's frantic eyes.

"It's nothing personal against you, Jack. It's just survival."

Pitch turned his attention back to the boy's chest, and lifted the knife over his head. It was a shame that they didn't have time for the fun Pitch had had in mind, but the inn was proving a far too busy area of foot traffic. Oh well, he thought, time for the best part.

Jack flinched away as the knife descended toward him, with a whimper held just behind his lips, because the last sound he made in this life was not going to be a whimper. Time slowed to a crawl as the young boy waited for the pain of the knife going into his chest.

Instead, there was a shout of shocked pain from above him, and the innkeeper's weight suddenly rolled off of him. Jack cracked a cautious eye open as he was yanked to his feet, and let out a startled breath when he saw the giant rabbit he'd left behind in the woods. Aster pushed the boy behind him and caught his boomerang as it finished its loop. The woman posing as Pitch's wife dashed forward with a feral shriek and Aster knocked her to the side with no effort. She collided with the wall, with sand seeming to burst from her head, and collapsed without another sound.

Aster turned his attention away from the woman and back to Pitch. And he tried not to let the fact that his heart was frozen with terror show on his face as the monster from his nightmares climbed to his feet.

Pitch was young again, which could only mean that he'd tapped into the remains of Katherine's heart. Aster found that the anger that realization sparked shifted the fear back, if only a little. He also took a great deal of pleasure in the sight of the bloody gash across Pitch's temple. Despite the injury and the pain it very obviously must have caused, the dark man had a sickening smile on his face. Aster tightened his grip on Jack to further ground himself, and looked Pitch in the eye with all the strength and courage and hatred he could muster.

Pitch just laughed.

"Well, well, this is an unpleasant surprise. I thought you'd slunk back to your hole to die in shame."

Aster growled and increased the intensity of his glare.

"How does it feel," Pitch went on, "to know that you'll fail this boy as thoroughly as you did the girl all those years ago? That you're a complete failure to everything your people lived for?"

"How did it feel to be stuck in the shadows where you belong for five centuries?" Aster snarled back.

On the scale of insults, it was obviously less than spectacular, and Pitch only laughed again. The dark man sneered and advanced the two, and Aster shuffled back until he and Jack hit the wall.

"You know, this day has worked out better than I could have imagined. Not only do I get another star, but I finally get to wipe your pest of a race off the face of the planet. I might feel the need to dance." Pitch smiled and made a show of studying his knife.

Aster studied the man and weighed his options. His weapons were designed for long-distance battle, and though he was an accomplished warrior, it was difficult to tell whether or not Aster could take Pitch out before he was too badly hurt to protect Jack. So with the option of fighting out of the question, they had to escape, and they only had one way to go about that. One that may not even work. But it was a better option than just standing there waiting to be stabbed to death.

"Jack, I need you ta hold tight ta me, okay?" He said quietly over his shoulder. Not that is was particularly necessary; the boy was clinging to his back so tightly that he was nearly welded into Aster's skin.

Aster turned all of his will toward his magic, and tapped his foot to the ground just as Pitch rushed them. There was a painful, sharp twinge in Aster's chest as his magic conflicted with Jack's, but he forced through it with a scream of pain and they dropped down the hole. Pitch fell forward and the knife shattered as it plunged into the stone. He stumbled back and glanced around the room in rage. There was no sign of the star and the giant rabbit anywhere, except for the outline of frost against the wall. They'd gotten away.

Pitch tossed the handle of the knife away and snarled. Then he screamed and slammed his fist against the wall until it bled.

#

Jack and Aster were blasted apart with a crackle of ice when they surfaced. The Pooka groaned and rubbed his chest to soothe the lingering pain, and wipe the ice out of his fur. Aster shook his head and blinked the rain out his eyes as he tried to get a handle on their bearings. As he shook off the rain, he saw that they were surrounded by a group of men in rain gear, all looking as surprised as Jack and Aster.

"Grab them," one of the men ordered when he came to his senses. The others quickly obeyed, and even though Aster struggled, there were far too many of them to fight. In a matter of minutes, both he and Jack were held tight and forced to their knees.

The man who'd spoken studied them and knelt to Aster's level. "Who are you?" He demanded. "What are you?"

When Aster didn't reply, the man only shook his head. Then, he turned to address the other men again.

"Take them below deck and inform Captain Pitchiner. Then get back to work, we've got lightning to catch."

As he was led off, Aster glanced around to get a better view of their surroundings. He didn't see much, as it was both dark and raining, but he caught the briefest glance of the ocean before he was pushed inside. The ocean. They were on a ship, he realized. Worse, they were on a pirate ship. In the middle of the ocean, with no way to escape.

'Ah, hell.' Was all Aster could think of on that point.


	5. Things are not always as they seem

Aster twisted his wrists absently against his bonds and glanced around the brig they'd been forced into. He and Jack had been tied up so that they were back-to-back, with each pair of wrists tied to the others'. At some point, the boy-star had dozed off, the stress and shock of the day proving too much for him. Now the back of the boy's head was resting against Aster's shoulder, lolling to the side every now and then as he lightly snored. It was not the most comfortable position, all around, but there was nothing to be done for it.

Aster sighed and rolled his shoulders. He glanced around their surroundings, searching for any point of escape. The only thing the giant rabbit found was a window off to their side, and judging from the jerking and shaking Aster had noticed earlier – last night, this morning?, he couldn't see enough of the window to tell – , which was similar enough to North’s sleigh for Aster to identify as take-off, they were now very high off the ground. The window was not a good option. 

Aster slumped under the crushing realization that there was no escape.

"They're going to kill us, aren't they?"

Aster almost jumped at the sound of Jack's tired, scratchy voice from behind his shoulder. He turned his head so he caught a glimpse of Jack's face out of his peripheral vision. The boy looked as exhausted as he sounded, and he was sheet white save for the smear of blood on his left cheek. Aster found that he did not like that look on the boy, in the slightest. Even in the short time he'd known the boy, Aster felt that that look of defeat and fear wasn't right on him.

"No," Aster moved to reassure, "no, I'm not gonna let anything happen. We're gonna be fine."

Jack went silent after the reassurance, from disbelief or comfort, Aster couldn't tell. Aster rolled his shoulder and tried to think of somethings else to say to the boy.

"Tell me what happened.Did Pitch hurt ya?"

"Who?"

"The crazy wizard with the giant knife," Aster suggested.

"Oh." So his name wasn't Peter. That really shouldn't have been so much of a shock, considering he also wasn't a kindly innkeeper. "No, he didn't."

"How'd he get ta ya?" Aster asked when heavy silence fell over them again.

"The horse brought me to the inn."

"What horse?"

"It found us in the woods." Jack ducked his head, and Aster felt a bubble of anger form in his chest.

"So, let me get this straight," he growled, "ya just climbed astride a strange horse in the middle of the woods, and let it take ya off? And it didn't occur ta ya that that wasn't a bright idea?"

"It seemed like a better idea than staying with my kidnapper." Jack snapped back.

"Oh really?And the nice man who was about ta carve out yer heart out was the better option?!" 

“I didn’t know!He seemed so nice, and–“

"Of course he seemed nice.That’s part of his game!How could you do something so monumentally stupid, kid?!”

“I just wanted to go home.I thought I could figure it out if I just had enough time.And they seemed so nice,” he repeated.“I used to see people like that all the time, and I thought, ‘these are the perfect people to see me for the first time’.”

“Well ya certainly got that wish, didn’t ya?

"And what?Almost ending up with my heart ripped out, that serves me right.Is that it?"

The boy’s voice was mostly made up of tears. Aster winced.Why couldn’t he learn to keep his dame mouth shut?

"No, no, I didn't mean anything like that," Aster assured quickly.His chest clenched when Jack let out a shuttered sob behind him. 

“I just want to go home.Nothing makes sense here.”

Aster closed his eyes, like he was a kit again, trying to hide from monsters in the dark.It was such a childish, naïve plea.And how could it be anything else?Jack was just a little boy, a terrified child.

“Yer, yer a real pain in the arse kid, ya know that?" Aster sighed in exasperation.Jack sobbed out a watery laugh."I’m so sorry ya have to go through this. Ya don't deserve Pitch after ya." he said quietly.

"Sorry I ran off," Jack said after a moment. Aster shook his head, even though Jack couldn't see it.

"Look kid, I get it. Everything's gone cockeyed on ya, and ya want things ta go back ta normal. Ya wanna go back home, I get that, I do. And I'm sorry, I really am, but there's no goin' back. Ever."

"How do you know?!" Jack snapped, although there was a good deal more desperation than heat behind the words.

"My whole life revolves around stars, kid. It's my purpose ta protect them, and I know everything about them. About you." Aster felt Jack slump against his back and he sighed.

"I know it hurts, kid, but yer not alone. There're others out there, and two of 'em are waiting for us, where we're going."

"Really?" Jack's voice sounded hopefully from behind him, and Aster smiled.

"Yeah, really. I’ve know them my whole life.They’re great blokes.” Aster suddenly barked a laugh.“And here I thought that I was goin' out ta retrieve someone just like them: well-manner, cooperative, quiet—"

"—and you got me," Jack finished with a laughed. Aster snorted in return and shook his head fondly.

"I don’t know what I did in life to deserve ya, but Karma sure hates me." 

Jack laughed again, deep, long, hysterical chuckles that vibrated against Aster’s back. The laughter trickled off and they lapsed into another silence, this one much lighter, with smiles lighting up their faces. After a moment, Aster dived into a heavier topic.

"Tell me what happened after ya got ta the inn." Aster felt Jack shudder against his back, but the boy bravely told his story. He went over every detail of the time since they'd been separated, every moment of terror up until his rescue.

"Quick thinking," Aster commented, "freezing yer bonds. Smart."

"But I can't control it. I've been trying to do the same thing with the ropes, but nothing's happening."

Aster noted the icy feeling around his wrists at that, and raised an impressed brow. The kid knew how to keep his head under pressure, the rabbit had to admire that.

"When we get out of this, I'll teach ya a few things."

"You can do that?"

"Sure I can. My magic's tied to the earth, and elemental magic really doesn't differ that much from form ta form. The same techniques should work fer ya." Aster paused."I'm sorry, that he was able ta get ta ya. Ya deserve a better Guardian than me."

"You're doing fine," Jack protested. Aster snorted, this time in self-doubt rather than amusement.

"If I was doin' so well, Pitch wouldn't have gotten ta ya in the first place. I wouldn't have failed, again, if I was doin' fine.

Jack went quiet after that, and Aster swallowed thickly as a sudden dark feeling of self-hatred and failure welled in his chest. When he felt his throat was clear enough to talk, he glanced over his shoulder again.

"I'm gonna get ya outta here, I'm gonna find a way. I'm gonna protect ya, I promise."

Jack rubbed the back of his head against Aster's shoulder, to show gratitude and give comfort, but he still didn't say anything. Aster smiled, and tried to figure out how the hell he was going to live up to his promise.

#

"Well, well, look who ran into a spot of trouble."

Pippen crouched down to examine his brother's body. Caleb was splayed out across the ground, face down in the middle of a clearing in the woods and surrounded in a pool of his own blood, with his throat practically torn open. Pippen chuckled and shook his head, feeling not even the slightest bit of grief for his brother's passing. Served the moron right for trying to fight Pippen for the throne. With that thought, the prince turned on his heels to address the closest of his men.

"You," he snapped, "search my brother's body. See if he has the stone on him."

The man hesitated, and gave the prince an uncertain look.

"Sire, should we not give your brother's death more respect?"

Pippen didn't respond, and aside from a slight spasm under his left eye, he gave no outward sign of aggression. So the man had no warning when the prince twirled around and ran him through. Pippen then turned back to the rest of his men, all in one fluid movement, and sheathed the sword.

"You, search my brother's body for my stone." This time, the man he addressed jumped to attention and rushed to do as he was told. Pippen nodded in satisfaction; that would teach his men to question his orders. Such things would not be tolerated during his rule.

At the sound of the crackle of twigs and a tired groan off to the side, Pippen jolted and brought his sword up. The prince ran over to the source of the movement and pinned the woman attempting to sit up back down, with the blade to her throat before she could even sit up. She went down with a pathetic squeal that had Pippen's gut giving a roll.

"Oh god! Please, please!"

"Shut up! You pathetic wench!" He pressed the blade more firmly into her skin and she quieted down with a shiver. "Where's my stone? You tell me where my stone is, right now, or I swear I'll cut you open like a pig."

"Please! I don't know what you're— a stone?" She paused in her frightened ramblings, her eyes big and wet with tears, "A, a big, clear one, with a l-long golden chain?"

Pippen snarled and loomed over her. "You have my stone? You give it to me, give it to me now! You have no right to keep it from me, I am the king—"

"I don't have it! I swear, I swear I don't have it. The boy had it," she said, trembling and on the verge of tears.

"What boy?" The prince growled as he leered down at her.

"I-I don't know. Y-young, a young boy, with w-white hair, and blue eyes. This-this was, your brother walked into a trap set up for the boy. It was a trap, but the boy got away. Y-your brother didn't, but the boy did."

"Who set this trap?"

"A-a man, an evil man. He, he was in my head and he made me help him with the trap."

"This man wanted my stone?" The thought made Pippen's blood boil. Someone else was after his stone now, trying to steal what was rightfully his?!

"No, no he wanted the boy." The plump woman gave a yelp as Pippen pressed the blade against her skin in his shaking rage, hard enough to draw blood. "He said, he said he wanted the boy's heart. He said that the boy was a star, and he wanted his heart."

Pippen paused, and slowly pulled the sword away from her throat as he thought. A star, a star had his stone. He knew something about Fallen stars, something linked to immortality. What was it, he mused, what was it, what was it?

"Oh my god," he muttered in awe. "The heart of a star. Eat the heart of the star and you will be eternal." He grinned sharply and moved away from the woman, who heaved a relived breath at not having a sword pressed to her throat.

"Thank you, you've been most helpful. Now get out of my sight."

The woman happily scrambled up and darted away. Pippen didn't pay her anymore thought, and just stared down at his runes.

"It's not here, sire." The man he'd assigned to searching his dead brother called over.

"No matter. I know who has my stone. We ride north!" Pippen grinned eagerly. At first, he'd been annoyed that his runes had only led him to his brother's dead body, but this was just as good, if not better. A star, he thought again, thrilled.

He would find this star, and get the stone. Then he would never have to worry about finding someone to succeed him, never have to worry about growing old.Never have to worry about decaying into a pathetic bag of flesh.He would have everlasting life; he would be king, forever. 

#

Jamie came to the same clearing just as the sun was about to set. He looked around in confusion, seeing nothing that would explain why his runes led him here. Then his eyes fell on Caleb, and his heart dropped into his stomach. His brother was face up, his eyes wide and seemingly shocked, like he was surprised at the situation he found himself in, with a gaping hole in his throat. The live prince dismounted and made his way over to the dead one's body with a heavy cloak of sadness settled over him.

Jamie stared at Caleb's body for a long, sad moment, and then forced himself to turn back to his steed. He stopped short just as he reached for the saddle, frozen in indecision. 

He really should be back on the road if there was any hope of getting to the stone before Pippen. But he couldn't just leave Caleb there, either.

He turned away from his horse again, without any more thought, found the sturdiest branch he could, and used it as a makeshift shovel to start digging. He had a decent sized grave dug as twilight rolled around, and he rolled Caleb into it with a grunt of effort. Then Jamie turned the body so it was face up, closed his brother's eyes, and fixed the clothes that had been mussed in an obvious search for the stone. The thought made Jamie angry and sick to his stomach.

Pippen had been here before him, and he'd just left a member of their family, their flesh and blood, there to rot. It made him unbelievably angry, but the youngest prince pushed the feeling aside and set a bundle of flowers over Caleb's chest. Once he was satisfied that Caleb looked at peace, he piled the dirt onto the body. He placed heavy stones along over the length of the grave, over the first layer of dirt, and then covered those as well.With the dirt packed down and a pair of branches serving as a grave marcher Jaime stood over his brother’s grave. 

It was only until Jamie could send someone back to bury Caleb on the palace grounds, or at least that was what the prince told himself. And it was a fine grave, should it turn out to be permanent.He cleared his throat, thinking that he needed to say something.

"We were never close, Caleb," he said. "I wish we were, I wish we were all a normal, loving family, but we weren't. We weren't given the chance to be close like brothers are supposed to be. But you were never cruel to me. You weren't kind, but you weren't cruel and that better than most of our family can say," Jamie paused, blinked and swallowed heavily. "You were my brother and I love you. You didn't deserve this; I'm sorry."

There was nothing else that could be said, so Jamie went back to his steed. He was going to have to ride through the night. 

He needed to get to that stone first, he realized for the first time. Pippen couldn't be king. Not when he would kill their brothers, would kill Jamie and Sophie, and leave Caleb's body sprawled in the woods. Not when he would search Caleb's dead body for the stone and then just leave him for the animals and the elements.

Pippen cannot be king, he thought again. Jamie held onto the thought like a mantra as he rode through the night.

#

He was airborne. Pitch snarled at the response, and summoned another critter from his layer to search for the star's location, only to receive the same answer. The star was airborne. What did that even mean?! The dark magician tossed the animal's carcass away, onto the growing pile he'd created trying to get a better answer, and stalked toward his Nightmare, seething.

He'd had him; he'd had the boy-star in his grasp and that troublesome Pooka had to go and ruin everything. Now Pitch had lost the boy, broken the knife, and was dwindling on his reserves of power. Everything was going to hell, and it was all because of that damn rabbit. 

Pitch let out an enraged yell and kicked the pile of ferret and cat carcasses, muttering angrily as a bolt of pain that shot through his knee while he watched the little pile collapse. He rubbed the pain away and took a breath to collect himself. Falling apart now would do him no good, and it certainly wouldn't get him the star. He took another breath and when his mind was no longer a whirlwind of anger and panic, Pitch moved to hook his Nightmare up to the carriage the prince had so generously given him.

He settled inside once the carriage was under way and he studied his runes. No change, he noticed, thinning his lips in annoyance. Okay, the boy was in the air, but he couldn't remain that way for long. All Pitch had had to do was locate the vehicle holding the boy and meet him at its landing. And keep ahead of the prince now seeking the star as well – how many of these little buggers were there running around? – and deal with the prince should he become a problem. 

Simple, he thought bitterly as he tossed the runes again, this time searching for the sky vessel holding his star.

He just needed to find the vessel, get the boy, kill the Pooka, and take the boy home to deal with him. It really was simple now that he had it all lined up, and Pitch sat back in the carriage and eased the tension out of his shoulders. This was just a little bump in the road, no need to get so worked up. Pitch grinned eagerly as the runes’ face him with the location of the vehicle.

He sighed happily, thinking of how desperate the boy and the Pooka would be when they realized that their escape had only prolonged the inevitable.

#

"Why do you think you're failure?"

Aster gave a startled jump at the sudden question. Jack had been quiet for what felt like hours, and Aster had thought the boy had drifted off again. Not the case it seemed, and now he didn't really know how to answer the boy.

"What do you mean?" He managed.

"You said that you failed, and Pitch said the same thing, and that you'd failed before. What did he mean?"

Aster felt his heart freeze in his chest. He hadn't even come to terms with what happened with Katherine in his own mind.He didn't think he could tell the kid about it. But then, didn't the boy deserve to know? Didn't Jack have the right to know the truth about the death of his technical sister, and that Aster was responsible?

Yes, Aster decided, he did. 

The giant rabbit told him about the tragedy with Katherine, his refusal to look for her and her subsequent death. When Jack asked for the reason why Aster would hide, the Pooka told him about the slaughter of his people, and that Pitch was the one responsible. Once Aster finished his tale, Jack was quiet again, and Aster realized with a stone in his gut that the boy must hate him now. Why wouldn't he? The rabbit let out a shuddering breath and glanced over his shoulder to look at the boy.

"Jack, I understand how you must feel about me now, and when we get to Santoff Claussen, I promise I'll keep clear of ya."

"Why would I want that? It wasn't your fault."

There was a glass thin silence in the cabin. Then Aster asked in a barely audible croak, "What?"

"It wasn't your fault, either of them. It was, it was Pitch. He hurt those people, he killed them. He's the one to blame. You were….. you were someone else he hurt. Why would I blame you for something like that? Why would you blame yourself?" The boy asked, sounding truly distraught by the idea.

Aster blinked rapidly against tears. In all the years since the death of his people and Katherine's murder, he'd blamed himself for not doing enough, despite what all logic and his closest friends told him to the contrary, and it took a child's reasoning to show him the truth. To get him to believe it.

And Jack wasn't done.

"You're not a failure. You saved me. You came for me even when I was nothing but rude when you were trying to help, and when I ran away. You faced the man who took everything from you and very understandably terrifies you. Aster, you're the bravest person – well giant-talking-rabbit-thing, I'm actually not sure what you are, but you're the bravest one I know." And while Aster was reeling from that and choking on his tears, Jack squeezed his paw fondly, then twisted the proverbial emotional knife. "You saved my life, Aster, there's no way you could ever be a failure. You saved me," he repeated, "thank you."

Aster trembled as he tried to keep his emotions in check, and then Jack gave his paw another squeeze.

"I'm sorry about your family." That did it.

Aster pitched forward and wept into his knees. Renewed pain of his loss assaulted his heart and relief of the blame being lifted from his shoulders making it impossible to stop crying. Jack held his paw all the while and whispered comforts like "it's okay" and "just let it out", until his tears were spent. The two were silent again when Aster sat back up and took a steadying breath.

"Can you tell me more about Sandy and Nightlight?" Jack suddenly asked eagerly. Aster let out a barking laugh.

"Yeah, kid, yeah," Aster smiled with a warm softness in his heart as he went into detail about the stars waiting for them up north. Jack listened in rapt attention, hanging on every detail.

Then they both went rigid at the sound of turning locks behind the door. Jack sucked in a frightened breath and Aster curled his fingers through Jack's.

"It's okay," he promised. "Just keep quiet and let me handle this."

Jack nodded and kept silent as the door swung open. The man who walked in was towering and imposing, and moved with an air of authority. He was slight in stature, but frightening regardless, with sharp features and thin lips. At Jack's slight hitch in breathing when the man's eyes swept over them, Aster realized the man had a striking resemblance to Pitch. He had the same hooked nose, the same sharp cheek bones, even the same piercing golden eyes. Were it not for the difference in coloring, and the minor differences in his figure, Aster would have sworn that the dark wizard had found them again.

The rabbit squinted at the man. He knew that face, and not just because he looked like Pitch. Aster pushed the thought aside and focused on the problem at hand. He squeezed Jack's had in comfort again while the man finished assessing them.

"So, this is the point when you tell me who, and what you are," he declared with a sharp look at Aster, "and what you're doing on my ship."

The giant rabbit's ears twitched at the sound of his voice.It was much higher in pitch than Aster would have expected. Then he realized the captain was waiting for a response and scrambled for an answer.

"My name is Aster, this is Jack," he started thinking the details over carefully. "We're traveling north to visit friends. I don't know how we got on this ship." None of it was technically a lie, Aster just hoped the captain didn't push for more info. Things would get sticky if he did.

"Really now," the captain drawled. "Well, I don't quite believe you, myself, and you didn't answer my question." 'Crap', Aster thought with a wince. "But we'll overlook that for the time being in favor of more important matters. You see, you're traveling on my ship, have been for most of the night. And I don't believe in free-passage."

Aster swallowed nervously and kept a close eye on the man as he circled them.

"We don't have much money," he began.

"And I doubt I would find it properly compensating," the captain finished. "Besides, I was thinking of something a little, closer to your heart," his eyes slid over to Jack. "Your lovely lad has caught my fancy, maybe we could work something out."

"You keep your damn hands off him—"

"I would watch myself, fuzzy-wuzzy. You have no authority to give orders on my ship."

Aster met the man's eyes in surprise and raised his eyebrows in recognition. That was where he knew this man from…. The captain nodded in acknowledgment and went back to circling.

"If you won't offer proper recompense, I'll have no choice but to have the two of you executed. Now, how do we go about that," he mused. Jack’s breathing picked up.Aster squeezed his hand again.

"Hanging is my personal favorite, offers fair entertainment for the men. But it's much simpler to just tip you over the side, be done with it," there was a cacophony of disapproval from behind the door, signaling that the crew was listening in, "And it's a very long way down, boys, make no mistake."

"Listen, sir, we're just trying to get home. Up north, in Santoff Claussen. I'm the Pooka Guar—"

"That's enough of your lying tongue," the man snapped, cutting Aster off. "I will not be toyed with and lied to on my ship! If you think you can play me, you are sorely mistaken," the captain cut Aster loose and pulled him over to the window as he spoke. "Big mistake, huge, and the last you'll ever make!"

Jack gave a horrified shriek as the captain pitched the flailing rabbit out the window. He gaped as the captain stared over the edge for a moment, then fought his bonds as the man made his way back over to him and untied the boy star as well. Jack struggled, thinking the man was going to toss him out the window as well, but instead they moved to the opposite side of the room and out the door. They barreled past where the crew was clustered around the door. Some of the men gave whistles and hollers of approval as the captain dragged the struggling boy across the deck.

"I don't want to be disturbed until we make port, understood?" He called over his shoulder.

After getting a roar of agreement from the crew, the captain pushed Jack into his cabin, then slammed the door behind them. Once the door was closed, the captain gave a heaving sigh of relief and rolled his shoulders.

"That went well, I think," he said over his shoulder as he began undoing the ties and buttons to his top. Jack scrambled to his feet from where he'd skidded across the floor, and before the captain could say anything else, the boy delivered a solid blow to his jaw. Jack stayed in a battle-ready crouch, watching the man carefully as he reeled back from the blow.

"OW!" he shouted, in a very high pitch that had Jack raising a surprised brow. That sounded almost feminine. "Son of a bugger," the captain continued, rubbing his jaw and bottom lip. The captain sent Jack an accusing look, "That was completely uncalled for."

"Uncalled for?!" Jack echoed incredulously. "You just—" While Jack sputtered, the captain pulled what seemed to be some kind of corset from beneath his blouse. The star came to a stuttering halt and stared. There, poking up from beneath the fabric of the blouse was the subtle, yet defined, curve of breasts.

"Oh, that is infinitely better," the captain said while Jack stared in shock at the breasts, and pulled off the large captain's hat to let a long curtain of glistening black fall loose. "You have no idea how horrid it is to wear that for hours on end."

"You're a woman," Jack stated in realization, and the captain gave him a somewhat condescending look.

"So good of you to notice. You've got a nice right hook, kid. I'll give you credit there." She rubbed at her jaw again unhappily as she spoke. Jack just kept staring.

"You're a woman."

"Very astute of you, dear. Are you going to be moving past that concept any time soon?" She sighed and rubbed a bundle of tension out of her neck, and cradled her jaw one last time. "Okay, moving on. Let me assure you, no harm will come to you while you're on my ship. I give you my word on that."

Jack dashed forward and struck the woman again, this time in the chest and stomach, as soon as he recovered from his shock. The captain gave a shot of pain and surprise and then shoved the boy back. Jack collided hard with the opposite wall and stared at her in rage, panting hard.

"For god’s sake, I just said I wouldn't hurt you!"

"You killed my friend!" Jack shrieked.

"I didn't kill anyone! Calm down, and lower your voice. That door is thick, but it's not sound-proof, and I'd rather my men not know what's going on in here. Just sit still, I'll explain everything."

Jack watched as she waltzed over to the cabin's window and pulled it open, wary but willing to see where this was going. A moment later, a small grey bird fluttered inside. The second it landed on the floor, a burst of soft green mist swirled around the bird. Once the mist cleared, in place of the bird stood a towering grey giant rabbit.

"That was not fun," Aster declared, rotating his aching shoulder. He glanced over to Jack and offered him a comforting smile, "Hey kid. Sorry about the scare—"

"You're alive!" Jack dashed over and hugged him tightly for a moment, and then scrambled back in embarrassment. "That's good. I'm happy about that. I thought you left me to fend for myself in this psychotic, messed up world. Jerk," he mumbled.

Aster smiled and ruffled his hair fondly.

"Sweet kid you've got there, Aster," the captain said, drawing their attention back to the situation at hand.

"You two know each other?" Jack asked.

"Yeah," Aster took a moment to gather his wits, "Yeah, we do. Jack, meet Seraphina Pitchiner." Aster motioned to the captain. "We're old…..well we're old…old…ummm," Aster trailed off.

What were they, exactly? Prior to Katherine's murder, they'd been somewhat pleasant….well…bed-buddies, he supposed was the best term as 'friends' or 'lovers' certainly didn't fit the relationship. They'd just been two lonely people both tormented by Pitch Black, who'd needed physical love. Now, they hadn't spoken in centuries.

"Acquaintances," she answered for him. Aster found that the indifferent term almost made him want to wince, but he shrugged it off. "Sorry we didn't fill you in on the plan. Time was short and we needed to fool the men. Your reaction was more believable when you didn't know."

"I would have appreciated more warnin' in that too, Sera. Almost didn't have time ta shift before I hit the ground," Aster grumbled.

"I had to act quick; you were about to blab on a very important secret. My men, bless them, may not be cultured enough to recognize a Pooka, but they know what a Guardian is. It would have led to mutiny if they realized what you were."

Aster nodded in acceptance.

"Now, we only have a few hours before we make port in Market Town. So we need to get you two ready before we arrive."

"How is this gonna work, Sera? I doubt your men are naïve enough not ta recognize me."

"He is a giant rabbit," Jack agreed.

"Which is why he needs to human-ify, quickly."

"Human-ify?"

"You know what I mean. Chop, chop! And you," she turned to address Jack. "Some of my older things may fit you."

"I'm fine," Jack protested.

"You're wearing a bath robe." Jack automatically glanced down to confirm that yes, he was only wearing a bath robe. "Not to mention you need to hide your identity more efficiently. Anyone with a basic knowledge of stars will make you for one with a single glance. These should do." She handed him a dark blue blouse and cloak and a pair of brown trousers.

Jack took them begrudgingly, feeling a bit odd at wearing a woman's old clothing, but he went off to change without complaint. Sera nodded in approval, then turned back to Aster.

"Alright, shift. Let me see what we have to work with. Then, I think it's best for us to sit the boy down and explain a few things."

Aster agreed, and focused his energies into shifting into human form. This was not going to be fun.


	6. Pretty trinkets are not free (Unless they are)

When Jack emerged in his new outfit, the first sight to greet him was of Sera circling a half-naked man. The boy blinked in confusion. He didn't know this person, and he could say that with certainty as the list of people he knew was very short, and half of them wanted to kill him.However, Jack got the distinct feeling that he should recognize this person. 

Added to his confusion was the fact that he didn't see Aster anywhere, quite unusual as the giant rabbit was very hard to miss. While Jack tried to get his confused mind to understand what he was seeing, Sera continued her circling and hummed in approval.

"Very nice."

The new man huffed and rolled his eyes but didn't move while Sera examined him. She pulled at a lock of long bluish grey hair that was pulled back into a pony tail, and ran feather light touches over his tanned face. Then she twisted her lips in slight disapproval as she gazed down at his toned chest.

"You couldn't have slimmed it down a tad?" she complained. "I don't have that many tunics that'll fit this." She flicked on his biceps playfully as she spoke. The man batted the hand away with another eye roll, and this time Jack caught sight of a familiar flash of bright green.

"It was hard enough ta get into this form. I wasn' about ta fiddle about with it."

Jack jolted as he recognized the voice. Was that 'human-ified' Aster, he wondered. It was certainly very convincing, he decided. The crew wouldn't think anything of it.

"Fair enough. Might not have turned out so pretty otherwise." Sera molded her-self flush against Aster's front. She smiled coyly and moved her lips within a breath away of his.

"Sera," he warned, somewhat huskily.

"I've still got needs, Aster. Needs that I haven't had…..serviced in nearly a year. And now you've got these tasty, tasty lips," she gave said lips a quick nip, "that are just begging for the kissing. I think we need to make some time to rekindle our 'acquaintanceship', and see just how well these kissable lips work out."

Sera folded her lips firmly over Aster's. The giant-rabbit-now-turned-human ran a hand through her spastic hair and pulled the woman closer and Jack, deciding it was well past time to announce his presence, awkwardly cleared his throat. The two adults jerked apart and glanced over to where Jack was shuffling in discomfort as he stared down at his feet.

"Ah, I thought I heard the pitter-patter of tiny bare feet. We'll continue this discussion later," she whispered to Aster.

"Definitely," he agreed breathlessly.

Sera grinned and nipped his lips again, and then strolled away. She tilted her head as she studied Jack's new wardrobe and then nodded in approval.

"Keep the hood up, and put these on." She pulled the hood up herself and handed him a pair of shiny black boots.

"Even when we're inside?" Jack whined.

"By the time that we land," she conceded, "You'll need to come into town with me." Jack nodded eagerly, pulled the hood down, and nudged the boots away like they were the source of a contagious disease. Sera shook her head fondly and made her way over to the closet to search for a shirt for Aster.

The two stood in uncomfortable silence for a few seconds, the Jack coughed self-consciously.

"What kind of acquaintances were you?"

Aster made a sound similar to a choke and blushed madly, then did his best to glare at the boy.

"That's none of yer business, kid."

"Considering you guys were half a second from sticking your tongues down each other's' throats, I think—"

"We're not talkin' about this!"

"Don't blame the boy for being curious, Aster. He is a teenage boy, after all. That should fit you well enough." Sera tossed a white silk blouse at his head, and Aster skillfully caught it.

"Nice daks, kid," he said as he pulled the shirt over his head.

Jack glanced down at, decided that the brown-skinned trousers that crept half way up his calves and the silky blue shirt did, in fact, look good. With the golden necklace displayed prominently over his chest, and the cape billowing around him, he thought he looked damn good. So he threw the rabbit-man a smirk.

"You too. The crew will never place you as the weird giant rabbit. But how are you going to explain a new guy on the ship?" The question was directed at Sera, who moved to lounge gracefully behind her desk. The boys sat down in front of her.

"We'll be landing in under an hour. It's not all that unusual for us to pick up new crew after trade. No one will question it."

"I want ta stay with the kid," Aster objected.

"Not happening."

"Sera, I'm not lettin' the kid outa my sight. Last time I did, Pitch ended up snatchin' him. I'm not riskin' that."

"Well that's very unlikely to happen upon my airborne ship, now isn't it?"

"That's not that point!"

"Aster, I've already laid claim to him, in front of the crew. I can't have you back here, too."

"Sera, come on."

"Three's an orgy, Aster. I'll not have my men thinking I'm having an orgy back here. My crew's accepting, but not that accepting."

"Okay, so we say I'm an old friend—"

"Still an orgy."

"We have ta think of somethin', Sera. Jack is not stayin' back here without me."

Sera rubbed at her chin in thought.

"If you were family, it would be expected that you stay in the captain's quarters. Anything else would be rude."

"All right." Aster leaned forward eagerly. "All right, we're family. Brothers?"

Sera screwed her face in distaste, "Too weird."

"Nephew, then?"

Now Sera gave him an insulted stare. "Do I look old enough for that? Cousin," she decided.

"All right, cousin it is."

"Great, so now that we've taken care of that crisis, I think it's time to get down to the real business." She got out from behind her desk and crouched in front of Jack to look, earnestly, in his eyes.

"Sera, ya don't have ta do this," Aster protested.

"I believe in being direct," she told him.

"Like ya don't believe in free passage?"

"We still need to work out that price," she shot back playfully. Aster grinned and Sera turned back to Jack. "I understand that you've been…..pursued by Pitch Black. As such, I feel you have the right to know," Sera paused, took a shaky breath, "Pitch was my father."

Jack jerked away in shock, subtly pushing his chair back.Sera held her hands up in a pacifying gesture. "I understand that you must be wary of me, and you have cause for it. But please, just let me explain." The boy sent a nervous look over to Aster, who nodded in encouragement. Jack relaxed in his chair and gave Sera his own nod.

"My father wasn't always, like he is today," she started off shakily. "He wasn't always so dark. He wasn't always a monster. He was a good man, a good father, a loving husband, a great soldier. He loved me, loved his family and he enjoyed what he did. He was good," she repeated imploringly, almost desperately.

"But," Jack prompted after a tense silence, and Sera deflated.

"But, my mother died, and that was where everything changed. I was away at boarding school; my father was out with a battalion up north. On their way back to town, my father and his men were ambushed, just outside the gates of our home, by bandits. Vicious bastards," she muttered bitterly. "They were a common problem around our town, and the very thing my father was fighting against.

"They held my father's men hostage," she continued, "and forced him to allow them inside the town. He never, never really told me the details of what happened, but I assume that the bandits promised to spare the men if my father cooperated. They didn't," she paused again, shuddered with a sobbing breath, "They, they killed every one of the men, and beat my father within an inch of his life. After that they spread through the town, pillaging and the likes, until everyone was dead and everything was burnt to the ground. They hunted down my mother, and they…..they beat her, and they raped her, and then killed her. And they made my father watch. 

“He was never the same after that. In a very real way, the man who was my father, the man who was Kozmotis Pitchiner, died the same night my mother did.Afterward, he became obsessed with becoming stronger.He said it was so he could protect himself, and me. He seemed convinced that the best way to do that was through magic. I can't help but feel I had something to do with that."

"Sera," Aster reprimanded, "you can't blame yourself for the things he's done."

"Why would you blame yourself?"

She answered Jack's question by placing a delicate finger on a withering house-plant placed on her desk. The poor thing perked up instantly in a crackle of green sparks. Jack gapped in wonder, and turned his sparkling eyes to Sera.

"You can do magic?"

Sera smiled fondly and nodded. "It led my father to think he could as well. So, he began dabbling in dark sorcery, and it chipped away at his mind, as well as his body. The thing about sorcery," she explained further, "is that it degrades the body, irreversibly, unlike natural magic. He withered away to shriveled old man in less than ten years, and those dark effects are what turned him to the Fallen stars."

"It's still not yer fault."

"Yes, but we're not very logical when it comes to blame, are we Aster?"

"Wait," Jack furrowed his eyebrows as he interrupted anymore potential banter. "Pitch is, centuries old, right?" He looked at Aster for conformation. "And you were with him before his immortality. So, wouldn't that make you, like, over five hundred years old?"

"Yes," she admitted quietly. She turned her gaze away, and tried to subtly blink away her tears."Before I left my father, after he…after he killed the young girl, Katherine, he shoved a piece of her heart down my throat. It gave me eternal life.And because my magic doesn't burn through it like sorcery, I get to live forever, with that shame."

"Sera—"

"Listen, Jack," she went on, cutting Aster off, "I'm not trying to excuse anything he's done, and I'm certainly not asking you to forgive him. Hell, the man's my father, and I can't forgive him.I can't expect you to. I just want you to understand." Jack nodded quietly. "After I left, I tried to make a new life for myself and so…..here we are."

"And ya decided piracy was the best profession ta choose?"

"Well, not initially. But the Pitchiner name was already one that was well feared, so I figured, why not use that? By the time anyone who remembered Seraphina Pitchiner had died off, I'd built up a towering reputation as Captain Pitchiner."

"Yeah, that's the part I have the hardest time swallowin': Ya buildin' yer life off of killin' people."

"Who said I've killed anyone?"

"Well, as a pirate, isn't that implied?" Aster asked, confused.

"Yeah, implied. As a fearsome pirate, I'm expected to kill.It's terrifying, and 'terrifying' and 'fearsome' are every good pirate's bywords. However, half of my crew consists of men captured from other ships, and a good deal of our income comes from ransom demands. And besides, if I kill everyone I capture, who's left to spread the rumors that I kill everyone I capture? Bad business, all around. It's better to stick with bribery and job offerings, rather than killing," she explained further while the boys tried to catch up with her logic.

"So, where did the cross-dressin' come in?"

Sera sent him a withering look.

"Because no one would fear a female pirate, and my men would not follow a woman. It's a fact of life and I've accepted it."

"I think ya underestimate just how terrifyin' ya can be."

"I do not. However, it takes too long to build the needed relationship, and I need to be feared immediately. I just role with it."

"An' yer men can' tell the difference?"

"I love them, but they are not exactly the sharpest swords in the arsenal. And besides, I make a fine man."

While Aster chuckled at that, Jack chewed at his lip, deep in thought. There was something that had been bugging him since he heard Aster's story, but he didn't feel comfortable asking with the giant rabbit/man present. It was too tender a subject for him.

"All right, out with it kid. I can see the wheels whirling fast enough to spew smoke. What's on your mind?"

Jack glanced up nervously at Sera and nibbled his lip again. He sent a look to Aster, then rubbed his neck.

"Why'd he do it? Why did Pitch hurt Aster's family like that?"

As Jack expected, the two went silent at the question. Sera looked uncomfortable, and Aster looked totally stricken.

"Because they stood in his way," Sera finally answered.

"Pitch…tried to strike a bargain with my people, in exchange for access to the Fallen stars. My father, who was chief at the time, made it clear that no such thing was ever gonna happen. So he made sure that if we weren' going to help him, we wouldn' be in the way either."

More silence fell over the room, and Jack found himself regretting that he voiced his curiosity. Luckily, a knock at the door saved them from any more uncomfortable silence. Sera cursed colorfully and hastily pulled her hair back under the hat. Then, not having enough time to strap the corset back on, she cracked the door open just enough to peek out without the man on the other side seeing her.

"I thought I said I didn't want to be disturb," she snapped gruffly, slipping back into the persona of Captain Pitchiner.

"Apologies, Captain, but we're approaching the market. We'll be landing soon."

"Right, I'll be up in a moment. Thank you, Mr. Vasant." Sera slammed the door closed with an annoyed sigh and turned back to the boys. "Right, you," she pointed to Jack, "hood, shoes, now." The boy rolled his eyes, but complied and Sera nodded in approval. "And you," she turned to Aster, "stay hidden until the crew is off the ship. We've already worked out your story."

"I remember."

"Alright, Jack, let's make an appearance."

She draped an arm over his shoulders and fiddled with the base of her corset. The damn thing always makes it so hard to breathe, she thought with a sigh.

"What exactly are we trading?" Jack asked as he was steered out of the room.

"You'll see, and you'll love it. It's pretty damn cool." She grinned in excitement.

X

It was pretty cool, Jack had to admit it. What the men hauled off the ship was a large barrel of lightning, almost as big as Jack. Sera pulled the lid back enough for a few slips of light to peek through with a loud crackle. Jack stared with sparkling eyes and a wide grin of wonder; it was more than 'pretty cool', it was totally awesome! Sera gave him a satisfied grin and a wink, and then turned back to the man studying the barrel.

"Where's Raju?" Sera asked while the man circled the merchandise. Jack thought he looked something like a monkey mixed with a pig, and immediately decided he really didn't like him.

"On the way. He says I handle this."

"I'm sure he did," Sera muttered. "What do you offer me for it?"

"Two hundred volts, you say?"

"Two hundred volts of grade A merchandise, freshest there is. Two hundred gold coins seems fair."

"Well then, you having a laugh. One seventy."

Jack wandered around the hut while the two haggled over details. There were some really pretty little baubles lying around here, and Jack was in heaven as he rolled them around in his hands. When he found a transparent red sphere about the size of his palm, admiring the way the sun made little rainbows on its surface, Jack half-mindedly slipped it into his cloak. Sera cleared her throat sharply as he made to move off to the next shelf, and Jack glanced over. She hadn't looked away from the Monkey-pig-guy, but when she motioned to the shelf, Jack knew she was talking to him. 

He just didn't know what she wanted to do. So the boy shrugged and moved on, this time plucking up some kind of beaded necklace.

'Sparkly,' he thought with a smile, and he moved to slip it into his cloak as well. Sera made a loud sound of displeasure, and a large hand clamped over Jack's wrist. Monkey-pig-man snarled at the sight of the necklace in Jack's captured hand.

"Stealing from me?!" The man pushed Jack hard against the nearest wall.

"OW!" Jack shouted at the sharp pang at where his back slammed against the shelves. He cried out again as his head snapped to the side in the wake of a harsh back hand to his cheek.

"I will not have you putting bruises on my cabin boy," Sera snapped.

"He steals from me! I take his hand!" He waved the imprisoned hand at Sera in proof still snarling.

Jack cushioned his cheek with his other hand and gave Sera a look of mild panic and pain. She nodded to him in reassurance, and then looked back to the man in steely anger.

"You will not be taking any pieces off of him, either. Unhand him. Now!"

The man frowned, but did so. Jack rubbed his sore wrist and huddled next to Sera. She pinned the man with a glare and subtly patted Jack's shoulder in comfort.

"Put them back, Jackson."

Jack nodded and quickly placed the necklace back on the shelf. Then he did the same with the red sphere and a handful of vials with sparkling sands and liquids. Sera raised an impressed and amused brow and tucked Jack to her side.

"Not bad, kid. Didn't even see you take the rest of those," she whispered.

"I thought they were pretty."

"You have to pay for pretty things, dear."

"Oh."

She laughed gently, still in a whisper.Then she raised her voice to address the man."Now, where were we? I believe we settled on two hundred?"

Monkey-pig, as Jack officially deemed him, crossed his arms with a sour look. Jack rubbed his stinging cheek and sent him a glare.

"I do not settle, after your whore tries to steal from me. One twenty and no higher."

"Two hundred or I walk out of here with my cargo, and I very much doubt Raju will appreciate you losing my considerable business."

Monkey-pig paled, and he finally conceded to the price. The two haggled a few more details and Jack free to roam was more, this time with a warning not to touch anything else unless he was eager to live a life without hands. Jack was not so thrilled about that option, so he kept his hands firmly behind his back as he gazed at the pretty trinkets. Then he went still as he felt something brush against the back of his consciousness. Jack turned slowly, with that odd feeling pinging in his mind like a radar until he stood in front of a staff leaning against the far wall.

It wasn't pretty like the other trinkets, in fact it was quite the opposite. It was a gnarled stick, old and brittle, with a curve at the top that made it look like a staff Jack had seen shepherds use. But despite that, Jack felt drawn to it, like his whole being depended on holding that staff. So, in spite of Sera's warning, Jack reached out and brushed his fingers along the staff. A burst of frost spread out along the staff's surface at the touch, and Jack felt a spark of warmth bloom in his chest. Jack stared in awe, not having felt so complete since he was knocked out of the sky.

The boy made his way over to Sera, with the staff still in hand, and gave her a pleading look. She glanced down at the staff, noted the additional frost, and nodded as she gently took it from his hands. Jack shuddered at the loss, feeling oddly empty.

"And this, as well." She motioned to the staff.

"You reward him for stealing?" Monkey-pig sniffed.

"That's my business."

"What's your business?"

The three turned to look at the new voice. This man was very uglier than Monkey-pig, which Jack hadn't thought possible. The new man's eyes glanced between Sera and Monkey-pig, skimming completely over Jack, and the boy bristled in insult.

"Ah, Raju, there you are. Your grunt man and I were just wrapping up out dealings. Two hundred gold pieces and this staff for two hundred volts of prime lightning."

"Seems fair to me. What's the problem?"

"No problem, Sir," Monkey-pig muttered, looking thoroughly put-out. Jack had to hide a smile at seeing the man so unhappy.

Raju nodded and took the staff from Sera, and Jack stiffened. If he hadn't liked the feel of Sera holding it, seeing this man holding it made his skin crawl.

"Though, I wonder what you would want such a useless trinket for."

"Like I said, my business," she said, snatching the staff back.

"No need to be so testy. If I could have a word with you, Captain."

Sera tensed at the way and Raju said 'captain', and Jack realized with a jolt that the man knew the truth. He knew who Sera was. It must have been something that he held over her, as Sera stiffly followed him to the other end of the room. Jack hovered around them, fiddling idly with the baubles around them as he watched them. Neither of the adults paid him any mind.

"You heard any of these rumors about a Fallen star?"

Jack went rigid and sucked in a frightened breath through his nose. Sera chortled like the idea was ridiculous, but Jack saw the way her eyes nervously flicked over to him.

"Don't scuff," Raju scolded, "we both know they're more than myth. And you know just how much some people will give or pay for something like that."

Sera's voice was stiff with the implication when she responded, "Can't help you."

"Haven't heard anything? Not the smallest whiff on your travels?"

"Nope, not a thing. Best check your sources, Raju, they seem less than reliable. It's always a pleasure to make your acquaintance, keep in touch."

Sera turned on her heels and motioned for her men to follow. Jack kept close to her back and kept his head down, and shivered at how intensely he could feel Raju staring at Sera's back.

X

The ship wasn't as empty as they left it when the crew returned. Aster was lounging against a pile of cargo crates and netting, which Jack highly doubted was a comfortable way to sit, but the rabbit-man smiled pleasantly as the crew approached with drawn swords. Sera pushed past the crowd and headed them off to stand in front of Aster.

"Stay your weapons, men. Meet my cousin, Aster Bunnymund. He'll be joining us for the trip up north." Sera wrapped and an arm around Aster's shoulder – awkwardly, as Aster was a good head taller than she was – and studied the men.

The crew eyed them for a moment, then surged forward and enthusiastically embraced Aster like he was family. Jack stood by and watched with a chuckle. Aster looked completely overwhelmed and a little terrified as the crew surrounded him, patting his back and pulling him into one armed hugs. The men inquired about his history, which Aster provided, as rehearsed, and Sera finally came to his rescue and herded Jack and Aster back to the cabin. She shouted over her shoulder for the men to get the ship in the air, and tore off the corset as soon as the door was closed.

"That went pretty well," she decided with a sigh of relief. "We should be landing in Santoff Clausen's territory in two maybe three days, though you'll have to make the over-land trek on foot. Nothing to be done about it."

"Don't worry 'bout it, Sera. So, how'd things go in town?"

"Just fine, until Mr. Sticky-fingers over here decided he had to aggravate Raju's lackey. He was less than pleased."

Aster glanced over at Jack, and glanced him over for injuries. There was a nasty bruise blooming on his cheek, which made the rabbit-man want to snarl, but nothing beyond that. Aster took a deep breath and shook his head.

"Yer just a magnet for trouble, arentcha?"

Jack just shrugged, and the two automatically studied him suspiciously. The way the boy fiddle with his cape and kept his head ducked was the picture of a child who'd done something wrong and was trying to hide it from his parents. Aster stared him down, like he was trying pull the information right out of Jack's head. Or maybe make the boy spontaneously combust. Jack couldn't tell which, as he was much too interest in the floor. Sera chuckled suddenly, making both boys glance over.

"What did you take?"

Jack rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and slowly reached into his cloak to pull out the small red orb Sera'd caught him swiping earlier. The female pirate barked out another laugh and fondly shook her head.

"It's pretty, and those two are jerks, so," Jack trailed off, like the explanation justified everything.

"Not bad, kid," Sera said, impressed.

"No, no, very bad. That was very bad," Aster interjected.

"The kid's got some skills. I didn't even see him snag it this time. I'm pretty impressed."

"No," Aster repeated. "Don' encourage 'im. Jack, no stealing. It's bad."

"Okay."

"We'll work on your skills later," Sera whispered.

"No, you will not!"

Sera didn't anything else, but the small smile and wink she sent to Jack said they definitely would be refining Jack's skills as a pick-pocket. Aster sighed and dropped it. He eyed the boy curiously, noticing for the large staff the boy had by his side for the first time.

"What's this?" He asked, gently taking it from the boy.

"Jack took an interest in it in the shop. Looks like it may be his conduit," Sera explained.

"What's a conduit?" Jack asked, much perkier now that he wasn’t in danger of spontaneous combustion. 

"A way to channel your abilities. Everyone tied to elemental magic needs one. You think holding power over a force of nature without some kind buffer is safe?

"Conduits are objects that absorb the excess energy; they can serve as weapons or as…well, battery packs, basically. You can find them by chance, like you did, or design them yourself. The only thing necessary is to feel a spark with the object. The spark is the first discharge of your power," Sera explained.

"Oh. What's your conduit?"

Sera smiled and pulled a pendent from beneath her blouse. It was in the shape of a butterfly in midflight, about the size of the pad of Sera's thumb. It seemed to glow in a rainbow of colors, and Jack was almost convinced that it was moving.

"Neat. What about you?" He asked, looking at Aster.

"It's an heirloom from my people, the only one I have left," he said as he held up his wrist.

Jack leaned close to examine the arm band on the indicated wrist. The band covered the area from Aster's wrist to half way up his forearm. It almost looked like it was made of wood, with a golden egg-shaped stone resting inside of a sun at its center and a scatter of colorful stones at the top.

"Neat," Jack said again, noting that his conduit leaned more towards to function of a weapon than Sera's or Aster's.

Aster smiled and patted the boy on the back before handing him his staff back. Jack gave a sigh a relief at having it back in his hands; whether it was held by a friend or not, having some else hold his staff made Jack jittery.

"I'll teach ya how to channel yer powers through it later. Right now I need ta contact North, let 'im know when ta expect us."

"And that I'll be giving you a ride?" Sera said.

"Wouldn' hurt ta mention it," Aster agreed.

Jack hovered behind Aster as the man gathered an empty bowl and a pitcher of water. Jack watched him curiously as Aster poured the water into the bowl and chanted over it. The water shimmered and Jack gave a surprised gasp when a man's face – about middle aged, with waves of dark brown hair and a goatee of the same color – suddenly appeared in the reflective liquid. The star stared in confused wonder while Aster offered the man a greeting.

"Bunny!" the man greeted in surprise, "what is with new look?"

"Bunny?" Jack echoed with an amused snort.

"Thanks a lot, Nick," Aster muttered, knowing from the mischievous glint in the boy's eyes that he was not going to be living that down.

"Who is that?"

"Not important."

"Hey," Jack complained.

"Just callin' ta let ya know will be with ya in a few days. We caught a ride with a friend."

"What friend?"

"Uh, ya remember Sera?" Aster asked hesitantly.

From the way North's face darkened, he most certainly did. North and Sera had a deep animosity toward one another, and had since their first meeting, which had resulted in a sword to the gut for North and a number of broken bones on Sera's part. Neither Sera nor North had ever shed light over what had led to that fight, but they both still clearly resented it.

"I do," North replied shortly.

"Yeah, well, umm, she'd droppin' us off in yer territory. Ya won't have ta see her, so don' give me that look."

"What look? Why does he have an angry look about Sera? Lemme see!" Jack complained, pushing his way next to Aster to peek into the bowl.

"Who is that?"

Aster sighed and massaged his forehead. When did he become monkey-in-the-middle via looking glass?

"North, meet Jack. Jack, North."

"This is Jack?"

Before Aster could respond, North was shoved out of frame and replaced by Nightlight and Sandy. Jack did the same to Aster.The three stared at each other in awe, leaning so close to the water that their noses would have been touching if the they were really in the same room. 

Aster found that he couldn't stay too mad after seeing those three matching looks of adoration. The stars chatted through flashing lights, all with the happiest, brightest smiles ever imagined, for a few minutes. Then Jack shuffled with a happy sighed and a giddy smile and Aster patted him on the shoulder.

"We'll see ya in a few days, North. Pitch had been hot on our tails, so ya better up the defenses."

"I will. Return to us safe, Bunny."

Jack chortled again at North's nickname while Aster broke the connection, and the rabbit-man rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Those are my brothers?" Jack asked, suddenly subdued.

Aster glanced over to see the boy's expression matched, eager but mellow. Sera looked over as well and gave the boy a soft smile.

"Yeah."

"I can't wait to meet them for real."

Aster nodded and patted the boy's shoulder again, more eager than ever to get Jack to his family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm using the younger version of North from the books, rather than the one we saw from the movies.   
> As always, I love to hear your thoughts. Enjoy, enjoy :)


	7. So much nakedness

"You're certain the boy was with him?"

The man nodded in a daze, keeping his gaze transfixed on the silver coin hovering in front of him while Pitch circled him. The dark spirit glanced around the room some-what nervously for Raju. It wasn't fear, he just didn't have the magic to spare to deal with the other dark wizard. His back was already beginning to curl in on itself again, making it difficult for him to stand up straight. He was running out of time.

"You're absolutely sure?"

"I remember. Pitchiner protects and rewards thief boy."

Pitch jolted at the name, just like he had the first time Raju's underling had told the story. To think this was where she'd been hiding, all this time...said underling didn't seem to notice the reaction, which was fine with Pitch as he didn't want to bother putting energy into explaining. Pitch sighed, satisfied that the story was genuine, and snapped his fingers to send the coin into the other man's waiting hand.

"Very well. You best not be lying," he warned and the man quickly assured that he was being truthful. Pitch waved off the blubbering, gave the man a moment to feel relieved, and then sent a strand of shadow magic into the man's vocal cords. "Can't have you telling Raju about this, now can I?" He called over his shoulder as he made his way to his carriage, leaving the man capable only of making monkey-like squawks. Quite fitting, Pitch thought, for an underling of the Monkey King.

He settled back in the seat of the carriage and calculated his journey. If he kept the horses going in a full run nonstop, he would reach the lake outside the realm of Santoff Clausen in little more than two days. The pirate ship, the Flying Tarin, would reach the same lake half a day before him, if Raju's man remembered their departure correctly. After that, the boy and the Pooka would be on foot the rest of the way to Santoff Claussen, and the rest of their precious Guardians. That was his golden, and only, opportunity to capture the boy. If he crossed the marshes, he would be able to intercept them on the road.

The only shame was that he would have to bypass the nice chat he had in mind for his ungrateful daughter to catch the star. He'd been working on that speech since the day she'd left him nearly five centuries ago, and he'd hunted for her until he was no longer capable of leaving his lair. She'd left home to become a pirate, it seemed. The though irritated him to the point of rage, beyond reason.

It really was a shame, now that he was so close to seeing her again. Who knows, he thought with a grim smile, maybe when he had the boy in his grasp, he would be able to back track and see her. Their reunion was so long in waiting, after all.

X

Sera stretched out on her back with a happy, sleepy sigh, basking in the content feel of post-coital relaxation. Oh, she'd missed this feeling. So very, very much; she didn't know a year could feel so long when missing such a simple feeling. With another happy sigh, she slowly rolled over onto her side so she could gaze at Aster.

'Mmm-mm', was all she was capable of thinking through her pleasure, taking in the ruffled hair and glisten of his sweaty skin. Though he looked just fine in his natural form – and she really didn't like to think what kind of unsavory things her being attracted to a giant rabbit said about her mentality – there was something very sexy about the human Aster. And those lips worked real good, she thought happily. Then her mouth quirked into a frown when she saw him staring intently at the door.

Since Jack had returned to the ship with a staff as his conduit, Aster had been hard at work teaching Jack to use it. Which meant Sera's quarters were now covered in patches of frost and blast marks of ice. They'd been at it for well over a day when Sera demanded they give a rest, and to help the boy starve off boredom, she sent him out on deck. She instructed her men to keep Jack busy by any means necessary – barring allowing the boy to fly the ship, as Aster had nearly died of a heart attack when Jack suggested that – and then disappeared into the cabin with Aster, where'd they'd spent the last hour reigniting their….acquaintanceship. Now, it seemed that the rabbit-man was getting jittery with having Jack out of his sight for so long.

"You know," she said, drawing his attention away from the door, "if I were a lesser woman, I'd be insulted by your divided attention right now."

Aster smirked and rolled to face her.

"Good for me yer made of stronger stuff, huh?"

Sera snorted, then gave his arm a whack when he glanced over his shoulder to the door once more.

"He's fine. We are, as I said, airborne and my men will look out for him, so there's no need to worry about anything happening to him. They're very fond of him."

Aster gave her a look and muttered, "That's why I'm worried," and Sera laughed. She gave his arm another smack.

"Sex, sex, sex, that's you all you can think about. I know that as both a man and as a rabbit, you may not understand this, so I'll break it to you: not everyone is obsessed with sex." This time it was Aster who laughed and gave a playful hit. "Besides, my men won't do anything to incur my wrath. He's fine," she repeated with a smile to put him at ease. "So why don't you worry about more important things, fuzzy-wuzzy?" She asked, giving his arm a pinch.

"'pologies," he said with a laugh, rolling over to give her a passionate kiss.

When they'd settled back into content cuddling, Aster allowed his mind to wander again. She'd called him 'fuzzy-wuzzy' since the day they'd first met. He wasn't entirely sure when it had gone from an insult to an affectionate nick-name, but that was what it seemed to be. Maybe it was around the time he started thinking of her as more than a bed-buddy he could somewhat tolerate, Aster thought as he studied her profile out of the corner of his eye.

Aster and Sera had known of each other for years before they actually laid eyes on one another. And they'd hated one another with a passion. When they'd first officially met, shortly after he reached full maturity, their relationship had consistent of vicious fights. Kind of like Sera and North were now, when he thought about it, and that made him both uncomfortable and strangely jealous. As time went on, the tradition of witty banter worked its way into their fights, slowly becoming more and more pleasant in content. Then, one day, fighting suddenly became mindless coupling.

That aspect of their relationship also became more and more civilized as the years went by, at least for Aster, until they….. well, Aster wasn't sure what he felt for Sera now. He just knew it was stronger, and different from what they'd had before.

He wanted more, he realized. More than just a quick roll between the sheets, and the comfort it brought.

"Your mind is such a busy place," Sera mused, propping her head up on one hand. "What's on it?"

"You," he answered honestly.

"Now you're just trying to flatter me."

"I've missed ya."

"I've missed you too," she said back with a small smile.

"And I've been thinking, when this is over, and we get settled in Santoff Claussen, I want ta see more of ya. No, no more than that," he corrected, and Sera stared at him in rapped attention. "I want ta start a life with ya. I want ta spend the rest of my life with ya, every night and day. I want ta share my life with ya; the good and the bad and everything in between. Sera….I think I love ya."

Aster blinked in confusion and shock at his own statement. Sera stared at him with her face slackened in complete shock. Then she went pale and let out a shaky breath. She sat up and ran a hand through her crazed hair trying to think through the sudden sense of lightheadedness she was plagued with.

"You….. how…. are you… that be," she stumbled over her words, looking like a deer in the headlights as she stared at Aster. 

Share a life? How could they share a life together? She was hardly ever on land, and when she was it was to conduct illegal business. How were they going to work around that? Did he expect her to give that up, give up the life she so painstakingly carved out for herself, so they could be together?

Aster stared back, smiling with barely contained laughter. Sera never looked so taken off guard, and watching her flail about after a simple declaration of affection was hilarious. But as she looked more and more panicked at the prospect of a relationship, the smile slipped away.

"Sera? What's—"

"So, we're just going to, what? Ride off into the sunset? Settle into a little cottage, and lay out by the fire every night? What kind of life do you really think we could have together?"

"Sera—"

"What are you thinking, dropping something like that on me? Asking me throw my entire life away, what makes you think I want something like that?!" Anger flushed away the clammy cold and brought color back to her cheeks, and Sera latched onto it.

"Is there something wrong with that? There something ya don't like about me?" He snapped back, sitting up to glare at her. The blanket covering them pooled around their hips.

"There are many things I don't like about you, of which I can give you a very long list."

"Why are ya doin' this? I want ta spend my life with ya, why are ya acin’ like it's some kind of crime?!"

"Because you're trying to ruin everything! Making this into something too serious, too fast. This is just fun, Aster, don't look to make it more." She turned away, ran a hand through her hair.

"Really? Well, from this point on, there will be no more 'fun'," he declared, deathly calm and serious. "I want more, Sera, and if ya don't, I'm done."

"Don't talk to me like I'm being irrational!"

"Ya are! Irrational and ridiculous!"

"Ridiculous?!" She screeched.

"Bet yer arse! Completely and totally, all cause ya can't handle that I love ya."

"You don't love me! You can't….you're the one who's being ridiculous!"

The two glared viciously at one another, not noticing that during the screaming match that they'd stood up from the bed. Nor did they notice the loud creek of the cabin door swinging inward.

"Hey Bunny, can we—My eyes!"

As they did not notice either of these things, they made no move to cover themselves. So when Jack pushed the door open, the first thing he saw was the two of them standing in the center of the room, with their noses practically touching and looking like they were half a second away from killing each other. And they were both stark naked.

While Jack slapped his hand over his eyes and stumbled around in blind horror, Sera cursed and wrapped a blanket over her nudity while Aster dashed over to close the door. Jack made a series of gagging noises mixed with horrified groans, all the while wishing for some kind of magic rewind button so he could un-see that.

"Why wouldn't you knock?!" Sera demanded as she pulled the blanket tighter around herself.

"How was I supposed to know?"

"What did you think we were doing in here?!"

"Well you didn't say anything, you just ditched me with the pirates! If you—"Jack removed his hand from over his eyes to point accusingly at Sera. When Aster pushed the door closed, the boy made the mistake of glancing over, once again getting a full view of Aster's nudity. He reeled back and slapped the hand back over his eyes. "IT BURNS! Oh, it burns, my eyes are bleeding!" He sobbed as he staggered over to the adjoining room that served as Sera's closet.

"Well, I need to make sure everything is in order with my men. Why don't you deal with him, make sure we didn't scar his childhood?" As she spoke, Sera pulled her hair under her hat, now fully dressed as Captain Pitchiner. She waltzed out of the room without a single glance back, slamming the door shut behind her.

Aster sighed, and shifted back into his own form to avoid the haggle of clothing. Then he went over to Jack, who was sitting in the corner of the closet. The boy hunched his shoulders, sulking when he heard Aster approach.He made a show of focusing on playing with his frost patterns and muttering about 'stupid adults making me see things I don't want' and 'naked rabbits'. Had Aster not been so weary after his fight with Sera, he may have laughed. Instead he just sank down next to the boy. Jack glanced over cautiously, and relaxed marginally when he saw the rabbit was no longer technically naked.

"Sorry ya had ta see that, kid. We shoulda been more careful."

Jack just shrugged and hunched his shoulders further as he continued to play with the frost. Aster frowned.

"We okay?"

"Yeah," Jack answered listlessly.

"Then what else is wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Come one, kid. Spill."

Jack hesitated, but did so.

"Were you and Sera fighting?"

"Yeah, yeah kid, we were," Aster said sadly.

"What about?"

Aster hesitated. "Just some issues we couldn' see eye ta eye on."

"Are you going to be okay?" 

Jack had seen this before over the years. People – parents – who were in love one minute and then had a fight and were never okay again. He didn't want to see that happen to Aster and Sera.

"It's nothin' ya need ta worry 'bout kid. We'll work through it. Was there somethin' ya wanted?" He asked after a bout a silence.

"I got bored up on deck, so I wanted to see if you would help me practice with my staff some more."

"Yeah, sounds like a plan," Aster said eagerly. Magic practice would make for a nice distraction from his disaster of a love life.

By the time the ship left the sun behind, Jack had fairly decent control over the frost patterns, and could create controlled blasts of ice using his staff. But he hadn't put the same gusto into practice that he had that afternoon. He was listless and jittery, and getting worse as the day went by and their journey neared its end. When Aster called it quits for the night, the boy was practically a nervous wreck.

"Okay, Frostbite, time ta tell me what's been buggin' ya." He'd taken to the nick-name 'Frostbite', based on the boy's specialization in magic, after Jack had picked up 'Bunny' from North. And North was going to pay for that, Aster would see to it. "And I know it's not just me and Sera," he went on, eyeing the boy intently.

Jack just shrugged and bit his lip. Aster sat down on the cushions and blankets that had been serving as Jack's bed, and stared at him.

"I thought ya'd be more excited," he said in confusion. "We're almost home-free, and ya'll be seein' yer brothers soon. So what's wrong?"

Jack hesitated, then glanced over at the giant rabbit from the corner of his eye.

"Where are you going to be when this is over? To teach me control and…other stuff?"

"I'll be in my Warren," Aster answered, half-questioning.

"Is that going to be far away?" Jack stared down at his hands now, quiet, and seeming uncomfortable with saying what was really bothering him.

Aster stared in confusion, then his brow smoothed out. Of course: The kid was scared Aster was going to up and disappear when he dropped Jack off at the Pole. And why wouldn't he be? After so much change in his life, after being tossed out of the heavens and away from everything he ever knew, off course Jack would be afraid that his one constant would be taken away. With the tension between Sera and Aster since he walked in on them added onto that, it was no wonder Jack was nervous. Like a little kid who's world was falling apart with his parents splitting up.

Aster smiled softly and rubbed gentle circles on Jack's back. The young star leaned into the touch, but he still didn't look at Aster full on.

"A bit," he finally answered, "but I've been in the process of movin' it under the Pole for a few years now. It's a bit of a hassle, but worth it ta be closer ta the others. Ya'll be seein' plenty of me over there."

Jack glanced at him hopefully, "Really?" He nearly whispered.

"Yeah. Who else is gonna look after ya the way I can?" He nudged Jack playfully and got a laugh out of the boy. "I'm gonna take care of ya. I promise."

Jack beamed and snuggled against the rabbit with a smile. Aster wrapped an arm around his shoulder and held him close for a moment before giving the boy a pat and declaring 'bed time'. Jack snorted but didn't argue and he settled down onto his make-shift bed. Aster watched over him while he slept for a time, and then burrowed into his own bed next to the boy.

He heard Sera come in during the night, but he didn't try to talk to her. She didn't say anything to him, either, as she made her way to bed, and Aster drifted off with a stone of dread in his chest.

Sera stomped by the sleeping boys and to her own bed. Stupid, hard-headed rabbit. She cursed as she changed into her night clothes, tearing away clothing as she did. She and Aster hadn't spoken since the fight, and it put Sera in a foul mood all day long. Now she was tired, angry and weary. Sera dropped onto the bed and held her head in her hands.

Aster wanted a life with her. A real, permanent life, with real, long term plans and a real future. It was so much 'real' to cram into a relationship that was supposed to be fun with a side of physical comfort. She couldn't handle that, couldn't do it. A semi-relationship centered on fun and physical pleasure: that she could do. That she could control, and keep distant. Controlled and distant, Sera was good at.

But when she allowed herself to really love…people went away. She didn't want that to happen with Aster. She couldn't bear to lose him liked she'd lost her mother, and her father and everyone else she'd ever known…but if she didn't allow it this time, he would go away anyway.

That left her at a loss as to what to do, and very scared. She settled back onto the bed, trying not to cry and to get to sleep. She failed on both, but at that point she was so sick at heart that she didn't care.

X

"For the last time: where is the boy?" Pippen snarled. "I'm not going to ask again, so if you want to live, you'll tell me where the boy went. Now!"

The prince sneered angrily at the man sandwiched between his lackeys. They'd been at this for the better part of an hour, and Pippen knew the boy with his stone had been here. He knew it deep in his gut. But the man he was interrogating only answered him in monkey sounds and squawks. This man was mocking him, Pippen realized and his vision bled red. With a snarl the prince ran the man through.

He panted heavily through his nose for a moment to control his temper, then passed the blade over to one of his men, and ordered them to clean it and dispose of the body. Then Pippen got to work searching for any sign of the star. The place was littered with useless trinkets, and had he not sent his men out with the body, he would have had them deal with the junk. As it was, the prince tore through the junk, looking for any kind of clue.

Eventually, he came across a log book. The last entry was of Captain Pitchiner and two hundred volts, and it documented that the captain and his crew were sailing north. Pippen frowned at that. He'd heard of Captain Pitchiner; there wasn't a soul in Stormhold that hadn't. He was a fearsome pirate, and not someone to tangle with. But still, was it a coincidence that the captain was here shortly after the star?

"Your Majesty." The call from one of his men pulled Pippen out of his thoughts. "We've found tracks from your brother's carriage out front."

Pippen quickly followed the man outside. They'd come this far by following the tracks of his late brother's carriage; or rather of the man who'd stolen it. When they'd lost that trail, just outside the shop, which had led Pippen to the pointless interrogation. But now they'd found the tracks again. Heading north, Pippen noted. That was just too big to be a coincidence.

"I think I know who has my stone," the prince murmured.

He swiftly mounted and ordered his men to move out. With any luck, they would overtake the pirates before they set sail again.

X

Jack had insisted on being at the helm of the ship when they landed in the territory of Santoff Claussen. As Aster refused to let the boy out of his sight for more than a few minutes at a time, the rabbit was at the helm with the boy when the ship splashed down in the lake. The shock wave from the ship's impact crashed over them, soaking them both to the bone. Jack was thrilled, and laughed like a loon. Aster was less than happy, and sent the boy a displeased look before leading him back to Sera's cabin to dry off.

After an hour of prepping, the two were dried off, stocked with supplies and ready to say farewell to the crew. Jack was technically being sent off as a 'parting gift' for Aster. The boy was not happy with the excuse, as being passed along as a gift was demeaning, even if it was only for show. But it was the only way to excuse why Jack was leaving the ship with Aster when the captain had already claimed him.

But annoyance aside, Jack gave Sera a tight hug as she saw them off.

"Good luck on your journey. I hope you settle well into your new home," she said, just loud enough for the men to over-hear, then whispered just for him, "Everything will be fine."

Jack wasn't totally sure what 'everything' she was referring to, but he felt a knot of anxiety in his chest loosen nonetheless. She gave him a smile and then moved over to Aster.

"Be safe on your travels, cousin, and don't be a stranger." She clasped his hand and pulled him close for a hug, and to whisper her true farewell.

"I'll meet you at the Pole. Whether you still want me or not, you're stuck with me, fuzzy-wuzzy."

Aster pulled away in shock. Sera gave him a tentative smile, and were it not for the fact that he was still posing as her cousin, he would have swept her up in a kiss. As it was, he gave her another hug before he moved off with Jack.

Sera watched them go with a smile, and then moved to her cabin, shouting over her shoulder for her men to prep the ship as she went. She needed privacy to think about how she would break it to her men that Captain Pitchiner was retiring.

X

Pippen stared intently at the ship resting in the lake below them. He took a steadying breath and turned to address his men.

"Remember, Captain Pitchiner has a fierce reputation. We have to be prepared for anything."

The men nodded and grumbled in understanding, and Pippen urged his steed down slope, to the waiting ship. They needed to pay the captain a little visit.

X

Sera had few pleasures she could indulge in as herself. She was never one for frou-frou clothes, or draping herself in trinkets, but there were a few feminine activities she liked. She liked to play with her hair when she had the chance, for one, and she liked long, hot soaks in heavily scented waters. She did so now, sinking into the water with a blissful sigh.

This was just what she needed after the emotional rollercoaster of the last few days: just a good long soak to loosen up her tense muscles and clear her head. Sera lifted her arm out of the water and dabbed soap along the skin as she thought just how to bring her career in piracy to an end. She considered, briefly, handing the title of captain to one of her higher ranking crew members. It would be easier, and cleaner, but she dismissed the idea as quickly as it entered her head. 

Her life as Captain Pitchiner had come into being when she was running from her old life as Seraphina. It only seemed right that Captain Pitchiner end as her life with Aster began.

She sighed, and finished cleaning her other arm before gracefully lifting her leg. The crew would obviously disband if she didn't pass down the title. That was by far the most difficult aspect of this. Her men would be heartbroken, and she loved them like family. Not to mention, the men were at great risk from the law when they weren't airborne or on the sea. Sera sighed again and dipped her head under the water. When had her life become so complicated?

Probably around the time her father became a psychotic wizard who ate the hearts of living beings, she answered her own question.

She'd just come back to the surface and was massaging a number of products into her hair when the door was thrown open. In the time it took the man – one she did not recognize – to enter her bathroom and come to a stuttering halt, Sera cursed, decided there were far too many people walking in on her naked in the last few days, and bolted out of the tub for her sword. The strange man shook himself out of his daze at her movement, and sneered.

"You're Captain Pitchiner?" He asked incredulously.

"I'll ask the questions here! What are you doing here?"

The stranger gave her a disapproving once over, and then advanced a step. Sera unconsciously retreated, and the man grinned.

"I'm Prince Pippen, the future king of Stormhold. And you're going to tell me where I can find the boy." Pippen pressed the point of his sword to her throat.

Sera went cold with fear, both for her life and for Jack's safety. She swallowed it down, already having shown this man too much fear, and butted the weapon away with her own.

"I'm the captain. You don't tell me what to do," she countered with her own teasing grin.

Pippen snarled in annoyance and charged. Sera took a second to breathe and stomp down the embarrassment of going into this fight butt-naked – dwelling on that humiliation would get her killed – and darted forward to meet the attack.


	8. Things Fall Apart

No one really appreciated how quick a fight truly was. Most thought they were long, drawn out affairs, where witty banter could be exchanged between blows. The adrenaline flowing through the participants certainly made it feel like any battle went on for hours, but in truth, a battle between two people lasted no longer than a minute or two. That was all the time it took for both parties to analyze their opponents, and for one to gain the upper hand.

Sera and the prince had only been facing off for less than half a minute before the female pirate realized who would win. And it wouldn't be her.

She was a well accomplished swordsmen (swordswoman? Not the time, Sera!), but she was also unprepared, and physically outmatched. She was losing ground, and fast. 

The prince, already having arrived at the same conclusion, pressed forward, eager to end things. Sera stumbled back as she blocked the prince's forceful overhead attack, panting heavily in exertion. She desperately fought the man off, running through every avenue in her mind for an option that would even the scales.

She blocked another attack to her waist, and counter attacked. Her stamina was wearing down, so what else did she have that could even things out? – The prince with a swipe to the chest, Sera with a parry and a counter attack – Magic, she had magic. Magic would even the scales here.– Sera; overhead stab, the prince; block, counter attack, Sera; parry – She could use that, either as an attack or as a boost of energy. Which would be best? She debated– Block, attack, block – and decided that the attack would be better suited. Even a magical booster wouldn't help her now; she was out matched. 

She took a stumbling step back toward her desk, toward the half dead plant there. – Block, parry, stab, block, parry, stab – It wasn't the best method of attack, even if earth magic was her strongest affiliation. But, this wasn't a time to be picky.

Sera managed to push the man back, just a little, as she bumped into her desk. She staggered against the edge of the desk, leaning on it heavily as she edged toward the pot holding the little plant. Pippen stared at her in distaste while she panted.

"How are you the most feared pirate of our age?" he snarled. "You can't even put up a decent fight, you pathetic cunt."

Sera's eyes narrowed at the filthy word, but rather than waste energy on a come-back, she threw her hand to the stock of the plant. Instantly, it shot up, sending a fury of vines toward the prince. While the man gave a shout of shock and hacked at the attacking vines, Sera took a moment to catch her breath. Then, she charged forward with a battle cry. Using the butt of her weapon, she smacked the sword out of the man's hand as the vines dropped once her touch was no longer fueling the magic. 

She pulled her arm back to strike him, but Pippen caught her arm mid-swing and pushed her back to her desk, knocking her off of her feet. With Sera immobilized on her back, Pippen reached for the dagger at his hip and pressed it to her throat.

"Alright, witch," he said, pressing the tip of the knife hard enough to break skin, "tell me where the boy went."

Sera only glared up at the man, and hawked a wad of spit up into his eye. Pippen reeled in disgust, then pulled the dagger away long enough to whip its handle against her cheek bone. Pain exploded behind Sera's eye, and she couldn’t hold back the cry of pain.The prince pressed the blade back to her throat.

"I'm only going to ask one more time, witch. I could do whatever I want to you, right now," he said when she didn't respond, roughly grabbing one of her breasts. He pinned her down once again as she strained against his hold. "My men have yours occupied up on deck, no one would stop me. I'm not saying I'll enjoy it any more than you, I actually find you rather disgusting. But I'll still do it. Is a boy you don't even know really worth going through that? Worth having me carve your throat out when I'm through with you?"

She kept the glare steady, although the slight tremble in her shoulders betrayed her terror. At her silence, Pippen shrugged nonchalantly.

"Have it your way." He leaned back, presumably to undo his pants, but things never got that far. The door to her cabin was thrown open and her men spilled into the room. Pippen took one look at the hoard of angry pirates and then made a mad-dash for the nearest window. He threw himself through the glass and dove into the sea below.

Sera slowly levered herself up, shielding her bare chest with her arms. She quickly averted her eyes from those of her men, trembling in shame and horror.

"So," she said, "I suppose we have a lot to talk about."

X

Pippen surfaced with a gasp. Water gushed from his lips as he treaded the freezing water and made his way to the shore, cursing the witch and her followers with every other breath. He crawled up slope, shivering in his drenched clothes. He cursed, and at the same time felt nearly ready to weep at the unfairness of it all. He was cold and wet, his men were gone and the witch had just ruined his best chance of getting the star and his stone. It wasn't fair!

With his head angled to the ground and on all fours as he was, Pippen quickly caught sight of the tracks from his deceased brother's carriage. He stared dumbly for a moment and then quickly pushed himself to his feet and made his way to his stead. He still had time to get to the star.

After that, after he was crowned king, his first act as king would be to hunt that bitch down. Then he would have her and her crew of bastards put to death. He'd have burned alive at the stake, he though with a sharp grin; after all, it was the only death suitable for a witch.

X

Jamie looked down at the ship resting in the lake below him. On the opposite shore, Pippen was ridding off, hot on the trail of the stone, no doubt. Jamie knew it was smarter to follow his brother, and deal with the inevitable fight for the stone. That would be the best tactical decision, the best for the kingdom and Jamie's family. However, he found himself nudging his horse down the slope and toward the ship instead.

If he was being honest, he was eager for any reason to avoid the fight he knew in his gut that he was going to lose, just a little while longer.And, unlike most of his family, Jamie had manners.

X

Sera didn't have to say anything for her men to set a glass of brandy on the desk in front of her. She downed it in one shot, and waved for another. The men obliged, staying blessedly silent while she let the drink chase away the cold in her bones. She gulped the second glass just as fast, waved for another, and this time slowly sipped the drink. She glanced over the rim of the glass and studied at the group clustered around her. They all stared at her in gentle concern and Sera felt a rush of warm affection bloom in her chest.

"Did he hurt you, Captain?" Vasant finally asked.

Sera just shook her head and gave him a wry look, gently brushing her fingers over the bruise forming on her cheek. She drained the rest of the glass, and waved for another. The men looked like they were considering withholding the fourth glass, and then thought better of it. Vasant nodded in a kind of wary defeat and got the glass himself.

"What did he want?" He asked once Sera was halfway through the glass.

"Jack." Her voice slurred slightly over the word, and one of her men tenderly urged the glass down.

Sera went ridged at the contact and trembled. She felt the hot, embarrassing sting of tears and bit the inside of her cheek to keep them at bay. She was not going to cry. Just because he had...because she was... She was still Captain Pitchiner, and she was not going to cry!

"Did you tell him where you cousin and the boy went?" She sent him a fierce glare as an answer. Vasant raised his hands in a pacifying gesture. "Then what's the problem?" Because there was obviously a problem.

Rather than answer, Sera brought the glass back to her lips, trying to hide the slight tremor in her hand as she did. This time no one moved to stop her.

What's the problem? She wondered. She'd been humiliated, defeated in her own home, where she was supposed to be in control, safe. She'd had the power and position she'd so painstakingly built up since she left her father torn away. Now she was bare and vulnerable, stripped of every comfort she'd managed to find. 

What was the problem? She'd been violated, that's what. Even if Pippen hadn’t been able to rape her, he'd still violated her. Those were the complex parts of the very, very big problem.

Sera took slow sips of the brandy, until the glass was once again empty, to formulate her words – without voicing any of her thoughts. This was already a humiliating enough experience without spilling her guts like that. She set the glass to the side, determined not to touch it again. She was already feeling queasy from so much alcohol.

"It's...it's my reputation," she began once she felt her voice was steady enough. "I've spent my life building it up, and now it's gone. Everything's gone."

"Captain—"

"I so wanted to leave a spotless legacy behind, but instead I'll just be the stupid woman who thought she could pass herself off as a man."

"Captain—"Vasant tried again.

"I couldn't even defend myself! I was trapped like a pathetic damsel, and you find me like this," she motioned down to her nudeness, "After everything I did to try to hide the truth this is how it ends–"

"Captain!"

Sera stopped in her tirade, shocked that anyone had dared to interrupt her. What did you expect? A nasty voice whispered in the back of her mind. You knew from the start that no one would respect a female pirate.

"Captain," Vasant continued, oblivious to her inner turmoil. "We're at sea for months, years at a time. Did you honestly think we didn't know that there was a woman aboard with us?"

Sera stared dumbly for a moment, flicked her eyes to the other men, who nodded in agreement. Then she broke out into hysterical giggles.

"Obviously," she said breathlessly, "I put more faith in my power of deception than I should have."

Vasant and the men smiled ruefully while she got herself under control. He knelt to meet her eyes.

"You're still our captain, Captain. And you're the finest we've ever sailed with." The rest of the crew gave gruff of agreement and offered varying salutes.

Sera felt her throat close up and coughed to clear it. "All right you saps, get out. You've all seen enough of me naked today."

The men chuckled and filed out of the room, leaving Sera shaking her head fondly with a small smile. They'd known the whole time. She shook her head in amazement. They knew she was a woman, and they still followed her lead all these years, still respected her command. She gave a breathless laugh, and then gave a thoughtful frown.

The men were not making it any easier to plan her retirement.

X

"Why does your friend hate Sera?" Jack's question broke the comfortable, mutual silence between him and Aster as they moved down the road to Santoff Clausen.

"Which friend?"

"The one from the mirror."

"Oh, North? Hmmm, I don't know if it’s 'hate', per say," Aster said with a chuckle. "More of an intense, mutual dislike."

"Isn't that the definition of hate?" Jack asked wryly.

"Maybe."

"So what happened between the two of them?"

"Don't know; neither of them are very forthcoming with the details. Though I imagine it had something to do with Sera. She might have injured North's pride in some way. She has a habit of leaving a lasting, negative impression like that." Aster laughed fondly.

"But not on you, huh?" Jack grinned at the wistfully fond look on Aster's face.

"Oh, especially on me," Aster countered. "We practically beat each other to a pulp the first time we met."

"All part of her charm, right?" Jack asked with a raised brow. "You've got issues, man."

"Oh, shove it, kid." The rabbit gave Jack a playful nudge that had the boy laughing.

"But seriously, how do you to go from hitting each other to, well..."The boy trailed off and made some vague motions with his hands to express his thought. Aster got the meaning well enough, and he felt his ears heat up in embarrassment.

"Subject change!" He declared, picking up the pace to try and derail the conversation. "We are not talkin' 'bout this."

"Well, I did already see it."

"So we don't need to talk 'bout it. Subject change."

"Okay. Tell me more about Sandy and Nightlight," Jack said after a small pause.

Aster barked a laugh. "Frostbite, I've told you everything I can about them. There's only so much they've told me about themselves, the blokes aren't exactly the most talkative pair."

"Then tell me the stuff you know again," Jack urged, bouncing on the balls of his feet in excitement.

"Frostbite –"Aster's laughing sigh of exasperation was cut off as he heard the rattle of an approaching carriage. He grabbed Jack's arm and pulled the boy to the cover off to the side of the road. They crouched in the bushes as the carriage – a ragged, hideously yellow thing – came into sight.

"I know that guy," Jack whispered when he recognized the man driving the wagon. "It's Monkey—um, Raju. He runs the shop Sera took me to." He was also a total jerk, Jack remembered very clearly.

"Raju. Bloody hell." Jack glance over and found Aster's face – still human for the trip up the road – to be stark pale.

"You know him?"

Aster nodded and swallowed nervously. "He's a dark wizard."

Jack sucked in his own fearful breath and looked at Aster in panic. "Like Pitch?"

"Not quite the same league, but still dangerous." Aster winced at the panicked look Jack had fixed on him and squeezed the boy's shoulder. "Just stay down. I'll get us out'a here."

Jack shrank into Aster's side when Raju abruptly pulled the carriage to the side of the road, all but right in front of their hiding place. A loud crash from inside the wagon at least brought the comfort that the man was not looking for them, but rather investigating the source of the noise. Raju angrily strode to the back of the wagon.

"Okay," Aster whispered," we gotta go."

"Bunny, wait," Jack protested when the rabbit-man tried to steer him around the wagon.

Aster gave the boy a confused look, but a woman's shriek brought his attention back to the road. Raju was pulling a young woman, ethereally beautiful with dark hair, out of the back of the wagon. Raju shouted at her – apparently she'd broken something in the wagon – called her stupid and pathetic. Jack made a small sound of pity when Raju backhanded the woman, and Aster understood his desire to stay.

"Frostbite, there's nothing we can do. We need to go."

"We can't just leave. We need to help her." Raju gave the woman another slap and Jack's shoulder jerked with the desire to run and help her. Aster kept him back and sighed.

"We can't, kid, I'm sorry." Jack's safety was just too important. Aster tried to pull the boy around the wagon again when Jack's shoulders sagged. However, the boy twisted out his grip and made a dash for the road.

"Frostbite. Jack!"

Raju glanced up from the woman at the commotion, just as Jack reached him.

"Hey!" Jack shouted in the most commanding voice he could muster, "Leave her alone." 

The boy moved to shove Raju away from the woman, but instead his hand simply passed through Raju's shoulder. Without the shove to stop his momentum, Jack fell forward and the rest of his body phased through the man as well. Jack stumbled into the side of the wagon and shivered.

"Okay, that was weird," Jack whispered. He held his chest, which felt like every organ in it had been thoroughly scalded. It was more than a little weird, to be honest. Whatever had just happened was scary.

The young woman Raju had been harassing was leaning against the wagon just a few inches away from Jack, glancing between the boy and Raju and confusion. Raju, on the other hand, only had eyes for Aster as the rabbit-turned-man reached them. He too glanced at Jack in confusion, but he quickly zeroed in on Raju.

"Ah, what can I do for you, good sir?" Raju asked cordially.

"G'day. See ya had a spat with the lady there."

Said lady lifted a hand to her tender cheek at that. Jack glared and threw a punch at the back of Raju's head. The blow still just passed through the man without any impact, and Jack sighed in exasperation. That was getting annoying. Aster motioned for him to stop, which Jack grudgingly accepted as the best course of action.

"Not a spat," Raju corrected. "Just need to teach my girl how to behave."

Aster looked ready to sock Raju himself at that, and even though Jack had a feeling the Pooka would have much better luck with that than Jack did, Aster managed to resist. Instead he kept a stiff smile on his face.

"That comes up. Ya 'know, if she's such a problem, maybe I could take her off your hands." And out of them, he mentally added

"There's a thought," Raju said lightly. "But I'd much rather talk about you than my slave, Aster."

"You—how do you know my name?"

"The shapeshifting magic of the Pooka is impossible to miss. Might be enough to trick the humans, but not me." Raju tapped his temple with a sly grin while Aster stared at him in shock.

By the time the dark wizard's words registered, and Aster reached for his weapon, it was too late. Raju moved forward in a swift movement and placed a finger on Aster's forehead. Immediately, Aster's vision was overcome with sulfur colored smoke. He tried to counter the attack with his own magic as the world began to spin, but only managed the smallest spark of power. He coughed, and tried to wave away the smoke and fight off unconsciousness as the pain of his bones shrinking washed over him. He failed; his stomach rolled and black grew around the edges of his vision. The last thought that followed him to oblivion was fear for Jack's safety and fear for himself.

"Bunny! Oh my—what did you do?!" Jack shouted accusingly at Raju when the nasty looking smoke cleared and revealed and tiny, shivering gray rabbit where Aster had previously stood. Jack gave Raju a furious look and once again rushed forward to strike him – with the same result as the last couple times he's tried it. "Oh come on," Jack grumbled.

Raju lumbered over to the shrunken Aster like Jack's attack hadn't happened (because from his prospective, it hadn't happened). "Now don't worry, you won't be harmed; you're of much more use to me alive. I can think of a number of customers who would pay a pretty penny for the last Pooka." Raju scooped Aster up as he spoke.

"Hey, leave him alone!" Desperate now, Jack shot a blast of ice at the man. But just like the rest of Jack's attacks, the ice just harmlessly passed through Raju's back. "No, let him go!"

Jack ran after the man as he made his way to the wagon, determined to wrestle Aster out of Raju's grip, throw objects in the man's path, whatever it took to get his friend out of the wizard's grasp. Before he could but any of those plans into action, Raju fell to the ground under a loud 'thwang!' The young woman Raju was harassing stood over his body, holding what looked like a frying pan in her trembling hand and looking shocked at what she'd just done. She tossed the pan to the side and dashed over to Jack.

"Hurry," she urged, "get your friend and get out of here."

Jack glanced over to where the mini-Aster was still unconscious, laying just next to Raju's outstretched hand, and then back to the pale woman.

"You should come with us. After this he...we'll keep you safe," he promised, giving her an imploring look.

"I can't," she said sadly, lifting her foot to show the thin silver chain around her ankle.

"I'll get that off you."

"You can't. It's an enchanted chain, I'll only be free of it when he dies. That's not something I'd ask of you even if you could touch him." She smiled gently at Jack's distraught look.

"We'll, we'll take the wagon. The chain's attached to the wagon, we'll just all take that. We're going to people who have magic, they can help you."

"It's a sweet thought, honey, but—"she was cut off with a scream as he feet were pulled out from under her.

Raju yanked her closer by the chain around her ankle, the snarl on his face making his already considerably ugly face even uglier. Breathing heavily in rage, the man climbed to his feet and delivered a harsh kick to her ribs.

"Stop!" Jack demanded with the woman cried out.

Raju, of course, still didn't hear him. The ugly man jerked the woman up by her hair, at which she gave another pained cry.

"Stupid wench. What did you think you were going to accomplish? Huh? What good did you think it would do? You know you can never escape me!" He gave her ribs another kick. "Well, I think you know what punishment this requires," he said in a calm voice that was somehow more sinister than his snarl. The woman went rigid.

"No, no please!"

"You should have thought of the consequences."

"No!" She tried to latch onto Raju's foot as he walked away. He kicked out of her hold and kept going, stepping over unconscious-tiny-Bunny, and toward the wagon. Jack moved to block his path, firm in his belief that he needed to keep Raju from whatever he was getting to torture the poor woman with.

Before Raju passed through him again, a black carriage pulled up next to them and stopped the man in his tracks. Jack turned to observe the carriage as well. He froze and terror closed around his heart.

"No, nononono," he muttered, backing away until his back hit the ugly yellow wagon. Jack knew who was in that wagon before the door even opened. He didn't know how he knew, or how the man found him again, but Jack knew.

Pitch Black stepped out of the carriage and gave Jack a sharp smile.

"Hello there. It's about time we found each other," the dark man said with a hungry look.

Jack cowered against the wagon and shook his head in silent terror. His gaze flickered hopefully over to Aster – still tiny and still unconscious – and then back to the dark monster.

"I didn't expect to see you again so soon," Raju said back, assuming he was the topic of Pitch's comment. Pitch glanced over sharply at the new voice.

"Oh, look at that. Small world."

"That it is. I just need to deal with my slave," Raju yanked the woman up to her feet, "and then I'd love to chat."

"I'm sure you would." Pitch said in a chipper voice, still giving Jack sideways glances. "But as I recall, I told you I wouldn't be so lenient with you for what you pulled the next time we met."

Raju went pale, released the woman and stumbled back.

"Now—now Pitch, there's no need—"

"I've always found you to be a particular bothersome irritant, Raju. I've thought about doing this for a very long time."

Raju managed to throw his hands up and conjured another bought of sulfur yellow mist just as Pitch launched a barrage of shadows toward his head. The woman rushed away from Raju's side and over to Jack, clutching the boy's hand as they watched the two battle. The two streams of magic warred against one another evenly for a moment, until Pitch sent a larger burst of power on his end. Raju's magic held out briefly, and was then overtaken by shadows. Raju's head was engulfed shortly after, and his body collapsed. Jack and the woman let out frightened shrieks as they realized that there was no longer a head attached to that body. Pitch let out a menacing cackle, and Jack swore that the man's face aged ten years right before his eyes.

"Ah, so worth it," Pitch muttered, tracing the age lines that appeared on his face.

The woman gave shocked gasp that had Jack glancing away from Pitch. He followed her gaze and they both watched as the dainty chain disappeared. Pitch finished cackling and zeroed back in on Jack.

"Go, get out of here," Jack whispered to the woman.

Pitch gave him an indulgent smile and barely gave the woman a glance as she scurried away. "Now, be a good boy and just come along quietly."

The dark man advanced a step, and Jack moved to avoid him, his back still pressed against the wagon. He looked over to where Aster was lying, then over to where the woman was – not running despite Jack's urging, but edging cautiously to the back of the wagon – and back to Pitch. He took a step away from the wagon, and the two helpless parties, and just as he hoped, Pitch moved to match him.

"I'm not going anywhere with you."

"Really. How do you plan to stop me, Jack? I see you've seemed to have lost your furry body guard." Jack cringed gave a glare, forcing himself not to look back at Aster. "Did you run away again?" Pitch continued mockingly. "Such a naught—"

Jack cut him off with a good blast of ice to the chest. The impact threw Pitch off his feet, and Jack gave a delighted laugh at the shocked look on the man's face. 'Oh yeah', he thought, 'I've learned some tricks of my own.'

Pitch quickly climbed to his feet and his face grew dark. Jack gulped nervously and blocked the blast of shadows Pitch sent his way with a volley of ice. Considering how poorly this same thing had worked out for Raju just a few moments prior, Jack was understandably nervous about the outcome of this fight. They traded a few blows, and Jack was happy to report that none of those attacks resulted in him losing his head. Although, considering Pitch needed him alive to then kill him by ripping his heart out, that wasn't as comforting a thought as it should have been.

They landed simultaneous blows onto their opponents' chests, and both Jack and Pitch went flying back. Jack flew back a few feet while Pitch rammed into the side of the wagon, right next to where the woman was trying to get to the back of the wagon. There was a moment of silence as they stared at each other, then all three jumped as an infant's cry sounded from inside the wagon. 

Pitch stared at the ugly yellow siding with an awed expression. He sent the woman sailing through the air as she made to dash inside. She crashed into Jack just as he made it to his feet, sending them both to the ground.

"No!" She screamed, jumping back to her feet as Pitch disappeared into the wagon. Jack scrambled up behind her. They both made it to the doors just as Pitch came back out, cradling a baby wrapped in a blue and green blanket and suckling a small bottle.

"She was hungry," Pitch said fondly, giving the baby a gentle bounce. The little girl looked up at him with eyes – one a lovely shade purple and the other bright blue – shining in gratitude. Pitch smiled down at her fondly, only glancing up when the slave woman's pleading reached his ears.

"Please. Please don't hurt my baby."

"I wouldn't dream of hurting such a sweet thing," he said with a tsk. Although, the wry glance the man sent Jack's way told him what the price for the baby's safety would be.

Jack's palms went clammy and he swallowed to clear his suddenly dry throat. "Just, put the baby down."

"I don't think so. You drop that staff," Pitch countered.

Jack hesitated. If he gave up his staff, it was over. He'd be totally defenseless and there would be no way for him to hold Pitch off until Aster woke. That meant Pitch would take him. From there, the only possible avenue led to Jack's gruesome death. 

But on the other hand... He focused back on the infant. Her face was like smooth porcelain, much like her mother's, and there was a pretty little birth mark under her eye with the purple iris. She had that tiny, button nose that only babies possessed at the cutest.Pitch wasn't holding her in a way that threatened her life, but babies were fragile. It wouldn't take much for Pitch to hurt her, and Jack had no doubt that the dark man would be willing to do so. That couldn't be allowed to happen. Babies were precious, and helpless, and they needed to be protected at all costs. No matter what that cost might be.

Jack tossed his staff to the side. He kept his eyes to the ground, refusing to look up and see Pitch's smug smile.

"All right, now give the baby to her mother," Jack said quietly.

Pitch hummed, as if in thought, and then shook his head. "No." Jack's head shot up in shock. "The child will be accompanying us."

"But you said—"

"What did I say, Jack? Certainly not that I would let the child go." Jack went quiet, feeling sick to his stomach. "Now, no more dallying. Let's go."

"You're not taking them anywhere," the slave woman protested, moving to step in front of Jack.

"As a matter of fact, I will. But don't worry, you can come too." Pitch gave a wave of his hand and Jack's wrist was bound to the woman's by the enchanted silver chain that had once been around her ankle. "After all, a baby needs her mother," he continued, giving his end of the chain a small yank.

There was an unspoken 'for now' in his words, but the woman didn't seem to catch that. Her attention was solely on the chain wrapped around her wrist. Jack could only imagine how terrible it must have been for her, barely free of the imprisonment from this very chain only to be trapped again. He was pulled from further sympathy, however, by a harsh pull on the chain that brought his attention back to his own problems.

"Come along," Pitch urged. "Unless you'd rather be dragged behind the carriage. I can't say I'd mind that, myself. It would be a nice warm up for what's to come." This was said with a pointed look at the center of Jack's chest. 

Jack’s stomach rolled.

The woman took the first step toward the carriage when Jack only trembled and remained rooted to the spot. Jack had no choice to follow. He managed to cast one last look at where Aster was still unconscious before the carriage cut off his view of the outside. The thought that this would be the last time he's ever see his friend made his throat close up with tears. 'I'm sorry I didn't listen,' Jack thought mournfully, wishing there was a way he could give Aster a proper goodbye. Wishing even more that there was no need for a goodbye.

Pitch slammed the carriage door closed, and to Jack it was like the sound of a coffin lid.

 


	9. Why, do you have a choice?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm alive! Sorry for the late update; classes were not kind to me. Enjoy.

There were some situations you never wanted to find yourself in, no matter what. Dread inducing, bile in the back of your throat kind of situations that would most certainly result in gruesome death. The stuff of nightmares.  Finding yourself thinking 'I'm surrounded by pirates', followed by 'I'm so totally screwed', is one such situation.

And it was the circumstance in which Jamie currently found himself. Surrounded by rather glum-looking pirates. Jamie swallowed nervously, and tried to look as confident as possible and non-threatening at the same time. It was hard when all he felt was scared out of his mind.  Whose great idea was this, again? Pushing that negativity aside, Jamie squared his shoulders and addressed the crowd of pirates.

"I wish to speak with your captain," he said in the boldest, but entirely respectful, tone that he could manage.

"Why would I wish to speak to you?" Sera moved to the front of the group, and eyed the new comer with a raised brow. If he was shocked that the captain of this vessel was a woman, he didn't show even a flicker of it. Instead, he nodded to her in acknowledgement.

"Captain Pitchiner, I'm Prince James of the House of Bennett."

"Why should I speak with you, your majesty?" She repeated with a mock bow that had Jamie's eye twitching.

"I understand that my brother was recently aboard your vessel. Knowing him, there was likely a good deal of damage left in his wake. I'm here to offer compensation," he said, holding a small sack of gold out to her.

"In exchange for?"

"Nothing, captain. I know he was here looking for the stone we both seek, and I know which way he was headed to find it. I'm only here to show that my entire family isn't made up of pigs."

Sera grinned. "You're brother's an ass."

"Afraid I can't disagree."

"You aren't curious as to why he was here?"

"Of course I am. But I won't push. I just want to apologize for any damage he may have done you, and hope you'll accept."

Sera snagged the bag of gold after a moment of studying the young man, and gave him a bright smile. "I accept the apology, Prince James. I'm no stranger to being stuck in a family of pigs." The prince laughed good naturedly, but when he lingered she gave him a stern look. "Is there something else?"

Jamie rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "If you don't mind, Captain," he reached for his belt, which had every pirate on the deck reaching for their weapon. Jamie froze at the deadly sound of sharp steel, but still, slowly, brought out the bottle of wine he'd been going for.

"If you plan on getting me drunk to wriggle information out of me, you'll find yourself sorely disappointed, boy," Sera said with a hearty laugh. "You strike me as a light-weight."

"Absolutely," Jamie agreed shamelessly. He'd never been one to hold his liquor, or even someone who enjoyed alcohol all that much. "I don't intend to try and outdrink you, Captain. It's simply that... I'm going to have to fight my brother for the crown when I leave here, likely to the death. I'd like to spend as much time as I have left in good spirits."

Sera was silent as she studied him. It could have been a ploy, to get her to open up and tell him about the stone, and Jack. However, it would take a lot more alcohol than the Prince had on him, and much stronger stuff, to get her to betray that boy. And if James was trying to manipulate her, he was the best actor she'd seen in her considerably experienced life – he had the earnest face of a cocker spaniel.

"All right," she finally conceded with a shrug, "I'm never one to turn down a free drink. Hope you brought enough for everyone." The crew exploded in cheerful agreement.

X

By the time the bottle was emptied – it was stronger stuff than Sera originally thought – everyone was in very high spirits. Prince James, or Jamie as he insisted on being called after his second glass, sat in the center of the group, who were laughing heartily at his family story.

"... and my sled hit this... thing, and I went way up into the air! Then I flew face first into the castle wall, and dropped into the moat. And that is how I lost my last baby tooth," Jamie finished with a good laugh at his own expense.

"You were an...active child," Sera said when she got her laughter under control.

"Oh yeah, I was. Sledding disasters, hunting for dragons, you name it and I tried it. Those were the days," he said, suddenly somber as he drained the rest of his glass. "You know, it's probably not a good idea for me to be drinking this much before my final battle."

"Nonsense, lad, we've all won far bloodier battles with more rum than you could stomach!" One of her men shoved the younger man's shoulder with a laugh while the rest of the crew went into an uproar of agreement.

"Besides, why does it have to be a 'final battle'," another man pitched in. "You're obviously dedicated, you have a sense of humor, we don't want to slit your throat: you could fit right in with us!"

"I...I couldn't. My sister—"

"She could come, too. We have no quarry against having women on our crew," the same man said with a nod to his captain.

Sera rolled her eyes, but didn't respond, too busy watching the young prince. She wouldn't mind have the young man on her crew; she rather liked him. But this would show what kind of man Jamie really was.

The young prince looked to seriously consider the offer for a moment, and then shook his head with a heavy sigh. "It's not just Sophie. Pippen will destroy the entire kingdom if he's allowed to be king – it's what he always does. He enjoys it," he said.

When Sophie was a little girl, she'd found a stray pup along the edges of the castle, half dead but still holding on, and brought it home. She'd been so enamored with the little thing, as had Jamie, Monty and Cupcake, that they'd pestered their father until he allowed Sophie to keep it. Within a few weeks, the pup was back to full health, and a well-loved member of the family.  Then, one day, Sophie found the pup dead on the floor outside her bedroom door. It had been sliced open, had its heart and several organs removed, all while it was still alive. The poor thing was still twitching when Sophie found it.

Even though they'd never found out who was responsible – and father never cared enough to really look into it – the whole family knew it was Pippen's doing. He'd never kept his dislike of the puppy secret, and it wouldn't have been the first time that he'd destroyed something that Sophie loved – though it was the first time he hurt a living thing. And there was just something in his face, a kind of cruel smugness, that said he did it and was proud of it. That was just the beginning. As Pippen grew up, he became interested in hunting, and took particular joy in making the animals suffer as much as possible before their death.

Then he'd moved on to hunting his brothers.

"I can't let him be king. Not while there's anything I can do to stop it," he concluded.

"That's a very noble thing, Jamie," Sera said, breaking the tense silence that fell over the cabin. "I daresay that it proves you have the makings of a great king." Jamie looked doubtful, but smiled anyway.

"I have no doubt that you're right about your brother's rule," She continued. "He'll seek to destroy everything and everyone in his path, and he'll set a special path for me and my crew. With that in mind, it's within my best interest to help you.  More importantly, a friend of mine has the stone that you're both after." Jamie jerked and stared at her in surprise. "A very sweet, young boy who I cared about very much. If your brother finds him—"

"Pippen will kill him. Just out of spite."

"Exactly," she said, deciding not to correct him on why Pippen was after Jack. "So in the interest of protecting my friend, my crew and my country, I'll help you get to the stone first. In return, when you're crowned, you will provide letters of pardon for me and my men. I'll be retiring, and we'll all need a clean slate if there's to be any chance of us forging new lives." Said men looked very downtrodden by the fact, and pouted – collectively, the entirety of the full grown, fierce pirates – at the floor.

Jamie blinked as he processed the offer. "So, you'll tell me where the stone is?"

"Better. I'll take you to meet the two who have it with them myself."

"So you can keep an eye on me," Jamie surmised.

"I rather like you, Jamie. You've got a good head on your shoulders. Now come on, or we won't be able to catch them." She nudged Jamie's shoulder and twirled around and out of the room.

Jamie stared after her for a moment, and the followed her out. Time was of the essence, and they needed to find that boy before someone else did.

X

The slave woman ran her hand through Jack’s hair as he curled up in her lap and sobbed. She talked to him, gently and quietly, while the carriage rolled down the shaky road, doing all she could to soothe him.  She introduced herself as Ana, and told him of the lighter times in her childhood. About her younger brother and sister, and her beautiful mother. And about the darker points of her life that were so tightly woven with the good.  Eventually, the stories quieted his tears, and he managed to sit up and wipe away his tears.  She gave him an encouraging smile, and threaded the fingers of her bound hand through one of his and continued her story.

"When I had my daughter, I…I never thought I could have such a precious treasure.  After so many years of so much ugliness and evil, I didn’t think something so beautiful could exist.   Happiness just didn't seem possible for me. But then there she was: a beautiful bundle of life given to me by a man I loved with all my heart."

"So, so her father wasn't...Raju wasn't—"Jack bit his lip in discomfort. Luckily, Ana caught onto the meaning before he had to ask.

"Oh, no, no. He never... Raju never did anything like that." Jack sighed in relief and Ana smiled and patted his shoulder. "No, her father is a good man, the sweetest soul that I've ever met.

"We met in the market, about a year ago now. Raju liked to circle around towns closer to the castle every couple of months, better customer base that way. Her father, Nick, stopped by the cart to buy some unique pieces for his product. He runs a profitable business in the inner circle of the kingdom. Handsome man, too, my god," Ana placed a hand over her heart and fluttered her lashes. Jack managed a faint smile.  "When he saw my situation, it was so sweet," she continued with a fond smile. "He just about tore the chain apart with his bare hands. Not that he would have been able to, but it was a wonderful thought. And I couldn't ask him to do that, any more than I could ask you."

"I'm so sorry," Jack said before she could continue. "You were free from that, and because of me—"

"The most important person in my life is still alive," she finished for him. "This is not your fault. You gave yourself up to protect my daughter, at great risk to yourself. That man is the one who's to blame, for all of this, not you. So stop.

"Now, back to happier things. We were only together the one night, the best of my life. I think he meant to free me, but Raju packed us up the next day. Five months later, I noticed that I was pregnant.  At first I was terrified, but the first time I felt her kick, the first time I held her… the center of my world changed.  Even though Raju used her as another way to control me, like I knew he would the bastard," she took a calming breath before going on, "my daughter is the best thing that's ever happened to me, and I will never think otherwise.  I've always hoped that I would be able to introduce him to his daughter, one day," she continued dreamily. "I even gave her his name—"

The carriage came to a sudden stop before she could divulge the rest of that information. Jack went ridged, and the cold dread of mortal terror came rushing back to the forefront of his mind. They'd arrived.  Pitch yanked the door open, Ana's tiny infant daughter tucked in his arm. Jack shrank into Ana's side and clung to her hand for dear life. The dark man smiled and easily pulled them both out of the carriage and into the darkness of his lair.

X

"Aster! Jack!"

The panicked voice, achingly familiar, brushed over Aster's unconscious mind. Such a lovely voice, one that made his heart swell. It wasn't right for that for that voice to sound so afraid, Aster thought. Not when he loved the woman who owned that voice. Now, if only he could remember who that was.

"Maybe they got away?" Another voice suggested, drawing his attention back to the conversation.

"I don't... No. Aster's still here. Aster!" The woman's voice called again.

Aster commanded his heavy eyelids to open, if only to get the woman, whoever she was, to stop her hollering because his head hurt too much to listen to so much yelling. A small stab of panic worked its way into his mind when his eyelids refused to listen. Opening his eyes wasn't supposed to be this difficult, so Aster was pretty sure it wasn't a good sign.

"Captain Pitchiner!" the man shouted, drawing Aster out of his thoughts again. "I've got a body."

'Captain'? Sera! He realized with a happy jolt. The woman, that was Sera, the woman Aster loved with everything in him for reasons that are at times very, very confusing, because she drove him completely crazy. Like now, because she was yelling so much. And she was with some strange man that Aster didn't recognize the voice of, so he wasn't from her crew. That made Aster feel very annoyed, maybe a little jealous – the rest of what the strange-man-who-shouldn't-be-anywhere-near-Sera-if-he-valued-his-life said suddenly caught up with Aster's sluggish mind. Everything that had happened since they left Sera's ship came flying back. He remembered seeing Raju, and everything going dark after the man recognized what Aster was.  The word 'body' floated through his mind while he tried to remember the rest of what had happened, followed by one though: Jack. Jack had been alone with Raju! Where was Jack?!

The terror of that thought finally cleared the darkness from his mind, and he found the strength to force his body upright.  "Sera!” His voice was rough and barely audible, but it was enough.  She was at his side in an instant, and much, much larger than he remembered her. But that wasn't important right now; only one thing mattered right now. "Where's Jack Sera where's Jack is that body Jack?!" He asked in a frantic rush.

"Aster calm down. It's not Jack, I promise."

"Let me see." He needed to see himself, that was the only way to be sure. He tried to convey that with his eyes, because the thought of saying it out loud made his heart constrict too much to say anything. It made the possibility that the body was Jack too real. Luckily, Sera nodded and picked him up – and that was starting to concern him – and carried him over to the body.

Even without the head, Aster could see that the body was much too big to be Jack's, and the tension leaked out of his body. With that terrible possibility firmly crushed, Aster's mind snapped to the oddness of his current condition. It took him less than a minute to take in his surroundings and form a conclusion.

"Why am I tiny?!"

"That rabbit just talked," the strange man spoke again.  He stared at Aster with his mouth hanging open, and his big brown eyes blown wide.  "Why did that rabbit just talk?"

"Best I can tell, you were cursed," Sera said, ignoring the man who Aster still had no clue to the identity of. "Hang on, I'll fix it."

She set him down, and in an instant, Aster was enveloped in a swirl of green mist. When it cleared, Aster was back to his full height. He sighed and stretched with a happy, "that is soooo much better."

"The tiny rabbit is huge now. Why is it huge now, and why does it talk? I'd still really like to know that." The man – kid, as Aster saw was more accurate as he barely looked like he was in his late teens– gapped at him in one part shock and one part awe.

"This is Aster, one of the friends I was telling you about."

"You didn't say he was a giant rabbit."

"You didn't ask."

"Of course I didn't ask if he was a giant rabbit! Who would anyone ask something like that?!"

"Who is this guy?" Aster finally asked. The kid gave him a shy smile and what looked like an overdramatic bow.

"I am James of the House of Bennett, Prince of Stormhold—"

"This is Jamie," Sera interrupted.

"Yeah, that.” If he was offended about the interruption, the kid didn’t show it. He continued to stare at Aster with a goofy smile.  “You're awesome. Just, wow.”

"So what happened?" Sera asked.

"We ran into Raju. He recognized me, must have wanted ta make me travel sized."

"Raju was here?"

"He's still here, minus a certain body part," he said motioning to the headless body.

"Well, there goes a big part of my business. Good thing I'm retiring."

"That's all you can think to say?" Jamie said from the side.

"He wasn't a good man, honey. How'd he get a hold of you? Thought you had more sense than that."

"Rat bastard was mistreatin' a girl. Slave from the looks of it, and Jack decided to become chivalrous. Little show pony rushed off before—"Aster whipped around, turned a full circle as he scanned the area, and then looked back to Sera with a look of panicked horror. "Where's Jack?"

"I was hoping you would tell me," Sera replied, looking increasingly worried herself.

Aster didn't have a response to that. Instead, he ran a quick circle around the wrecked wagon, and then tore into the wagon itself when he found no signs of the boy.

"Aster, calm down. If someone attacked Raju, Jack might just be hiding off the road."

"And he just left me laying there? No, something's wrong. I know it." He bounded out of the wagon and put his nose to the ground in hopes of picking up Jack's sent. It was all around the area in very faint traces, but there was a strong source close by. Hopeful, he raced to the scent, only to stop short.

"...so, instead of just racing about like a psychopath, we should—"Sera's chatter came to a stop when Aster turned to face her, Jack's staff cradled in his hands.

"He's not here," he said hollowly, bring the staff to his chest like a teddy bear. Sera nodded, and reached for his hand. He quickly returned the gesture and then dropped back to the ground.

He picked up more of Jack's scent, some of his own and Sera's, what took him a moment to recognize as Jamie's, Raju's, a mixture of jasmine and milk that he could only assume was the slave woman's scent, and— Aster went ridged, let out a shaking breath of despair.

"Pitch. He was here, he...no, no, no," his body trembled and he lowered his forehead to the ground. Sera sank down next to him, kept a hand on his shoulder as the truth of that statement registered.

"There's still time. Jack still has a few days—"

"A few days of fear and agony, and that's if Pitch doesn't decide to skip all of that. He hasn't been acting very rational, ya know, _ever_!" He shouted, rocking back and forth.

"It'll be okay, Aster. We'll figure something out, and it'll be okay. You'll find him," she promised gently.

"No I won't, I can't. I'm a failure. The kid's been snatched by the person who wants nothing more than to kill him, twice, and both times I was asleep while it happened. What kind of guardian does that?!"

"Aster don't think like that."

"It's true! I can't save anyone, I'm a pathetic excuse for a guardian. I should've just died with the rest of them."

"Enough! Aster, this isn't helping anything."

"I can't help anyone. I failed him."

Sera gazed at him, hunched in on himself and clinging to Jack's staff, weeping. Then she stood up and squared her shoulders. It was time for a little tough love.

"Enough, Aster, that's enough. You need to get up and make it right. Go get him back." She told him sternly. "Get up, Aster! Up!" She yelled, leaning down to give him a harsh smack.

Aster gaped at her for a moment, brought a hand to the stinging area and then shot to his feet.

"What in the hell is wrong with you?!" He snarled. "What gives you the right to treat me like that?!

"Got you moving didn't I? Jack doesn't have time for you to pity yourself, so get off your ass and go save his!" she shot back.

He stared, opening and closing his mouth like a koi fish, and then sighed. He rubbed his aching cheek again and gave her a woeful look.

"Aren't ya supposed ta be gentle when someone's breaking down?"

"I'm not the coddling type, and you needed a kick in the ass." She pecked a kiss on the cheek she slapped. "We'll get him back, I know we will." He nodded and rested his head on her shoulder.

"They went south," Jamie said from behind them.

"How do ya know?"

"My brother was here, I recognized those tracks. If you're friend has the stone, and Pippen is still following him and that's the way he was going –"

"Then so was Pitch," Aster caught on. "How far south, Sera?"

"It's easier if I show you." Sera placed her hand on his cheek again, and he felt a shock of magic as his mind was abruptly filled with a montage of images. A blur of a large expanse of land, a blackened crater in the earth. The structure that was carved into the rock, a place that was filled with darkness and despair and the shattered remains of a childhood so disfigured –

"Sorry," Sera pulled her hand away, "I didn't want to show you that much. Know where you're going?"

"Yeah," Aster said, his voice thick with the Sera's lingering emotions. "Pitch would have made it in half a day on horseback. I can be there in half the time."

"We," Sera corrected.

"Me. I need ya ta go and get help."

Sera gave him a stony look.  "I know what you're trying to do, and I don't want you to. I don't need to be sheltered from this. I've been running from a fight with my father all my life, and I'm ready to face him."

"I know ya are, Sera. That's not what this is. Yer the only one who knows where he is, and I need ya ta get North and the other's there. We need back-up." Sera sighed and finally nodded. "Okay, hurry. I'm gonna really need that help."

Sera nodded, kissed him, and then vanished in a swirl of mist. Aster sighed and steadied himself. Sera wasn't the only one who'd been running from a fight with Pitch. It was high time Aster faced up to that, too.

"I'm coming with you." Aster glanced over and met Jamie's attempt of a stern gaze. It was almost adorable – the kid did not have the right face for stern.

"Kid, I don't know you, I don't trust you. I'm not bringin' ya ta the fight of my life."

"It'll be the fight of my life, too. My brother is after your friend, and if he gets to him first, he'll be king. If that happens, he'll kill me and my sister, and destroy Stormhold. I can't let that happen, so I'm coming with you."

Aster held the prince's gaze for a moment, and then shrugged.

"Second pair of hands will come in handy. Hang on." He flung the kid onto his back and the bolted toward the south.

His boy needed him, and nothing was going to stop Aster from getting to him. Not even the monster from his nightmares. Aster was finally going to kill that bastard.


	10. Final Battle

As he was strapped down, naked and helpless, onto the stone table in the center of Pitch’s horrible lair, the only thing Jack could think to do in response was keep himself from crying. He kept his eyes on the ceiling while rough leather straps were pulled over his wrists and ankles – with his wrists down by his sides, leaving his chest unobstructed, for painfully obvious reasons. While Pitch unrolled his kit of various tools of pain, and examined them almost lovingly, Jack switched his gaze to Ana’s baby. Pitch had formed a small black cradle for the infant the second they walked through the door. It might have been sweet, the way that he looked after the baby’s needs before anything else, if he hadn’t had Jack stripped down and tied to the torture table immediately after. A few feet from the cradle, Ana herself was anxiously hovering. The chain was still wrapped around her wrist and kept her from getting any closer. Despite their conversation in the carriage, Jack felt a stab of guilt at the sight.

At the sound of a blade being sharpened, Jack’s eyes darted away from the cradle and settled on the necklace. It lay in pieces where Pitch had thrown it after he’d torn the necklace, and everything else, off Jack’s body. That stupid stone; none of this would have happened if that stupid stone had stayed on the earth where it belonged. It was strange to think that he was going to die because of such a small thing. Jack flinched away from that though and fixed his gaze back to the ceiling.

All of his effort didn’t stop the sobbing breath that escaped him when Pitch placed a hand on his chest. The dark man didn’t comment on the sound, and just turned the knife in his hand. He looked like he wanted to say something, but then looked over to where the baby was still crying. Pitch scowled for a moment, and then brightened, placed the knife down next to Jack and strolled over to the cradle.

Jack watched quietly while Pitch picked the girl up and rocked her, either not noticing or ignoring the heated glare that Ana sent his way. With the man distracted, Jack tried to subtly reach for the knife. Unfortunately, he couldn’t get his hand far enough out of the strap, and Pitch had the baby back in the cradle and was leering over him again before Jack could so much as brush his fingers along the hilt.

“She was having a hard time getting to sleep. A lot of babies need to be held so they can sleep; it makes them feel safe,” he said, almost dreamily, while he picked the knife back up.

“You’re not going to able to do it,” Jack snapped, voice suddenly hot with anger. “You can’t use that baby as a replacement for your daughter. She’s gonna hate you just as much as Sera does because—“A harsh smack from Pitch cut him off. Jack tasted blood from where he bit his tongue.

“You understand nothing!” He snarled. “Seraphina is an ungrateful, unreasonable brat. She turned out rotten, but that has nothing to do with my parenting. I gave her everything she could have ever needed; I gave her immortality! She had no reason to leave!” He paused, took a deep, rattling breath before he continued. “No, I am a wonderful father. Her leaving had nothing to do with me, it was her mistake. I am an excellent father. And this time, everything will be perfect. It’ll all be perfect,” he repeated, rant dwindling to a whisper. He looked back to the knife in his hand and smiled back at Jack. “Now Jack, this next part will be unpleasant. I’m sorry to say that it’s necessary.”

“It doesn’t have to be,” Jack replied, his stinging cheek reminding him to keep his voice down.

“Oh, but it does. There are different ways to go about a situation like this; some prefer a heart that is at peace. But you see, I am a being of fear, and I need your heart as darkened as possible if I’m to survive off it.” Jack let his head fall back against the stone, feeling like an idiot for even thinking he could talk the dark man out of this.

“The more fear I put in your heart, the longer it will empower me. The girl before you, Katherine, lasted three days before she couldn’t feel any more fear. She was strong, and I survived five hundred years off the gift she gave me,” Pitch narrowed his eyes when Jack snorted, but just grasped Jack’s chin so their eyes met. “I think you’ll give me even longer, Jack. You’re a strong boy, and you’ll give me life for millennia, I can see it now. And I want to thank you for it.” He leaned over and placed a kiss on Jack’s forehead. Jack wince and felt the distinct sting of bile in the back of his throat. “Thank you, Jack,” he whispered, “thank you.”

“Go to hell,” Jack whispered back. Despite his best efforts, his voice was thick with tears. Pitch just smiled and patted his cheek.

“Strong boy,” he said again.

The knife slashed down faster than he could see. He jerked as a white-hot line of pain erupted along his chest and cried out in equal parts shock and pain. Looking down, Jack saw blood lazily pooling from the shallow wound. His stomach rolled up to his throat. The next cut came too quickly for him to prepare. By the third cut and then the fourth, he couldn’t keep the tears at bay any longer. He wanted to stay brave, be quiet, refused to give Pitch the additional satisfaction of his screams. But every time he promised himself that this time he wouldn’t! – more screams and more tears snuck past his defenses. He just wanted it to stop. Juts make it stop, somebody make it stop, please.

 _Bunny help me, please._  
X  
Aster skidded to a halt as he came to the front entrance of Pitch’s lair, and let Jamie slide off his back. The kid trembled and put his head between his shaky legs, and Aster winced in sympathy. He probably should’ve given the kid a little more warning before bolting off like that; humans didn’t react well to going that fast, especially without preparation. He only took a moment for pity, placed a hand on Jamie’s bowed head, and then raced over to the window.

He peaked inside, and felt Jamie come up behind him. Inside, Aster was able to make out the vague form of the woman from Raju’s wagon, standing closest to the window. But the fact that Pitch had brought the woman with him – which was odd, because Pitch may have been crazy, but he was single minded and not one to snatch up a random bystander– wasn’t important. The important thing was on the farthest end of the room: up a pair of stair ways that met to create a balcony, was Jack, strapped down on a large stone platform. And Pitch was leaning over him, which meant that he’d already started hurting the boy. Every protective instinct Aster had snarled at that thought, and an angry growl slipped past his lips without conscious thought.

Jamie’s hand on his shoulder was the only thing that kept him from running through those doors right then and there. “Hang on, we need a plan,” he said, placing a hand on both of Aster’s shoulders when the rabbit’s superior strength won out against Jamie’s hold. It didn’t make much difference as Jamie’s boots just slid along the stone while Aster continued forward.

“I have a plan. I’m gonna to rip that son of bitch’s limbs off and stick ‘em where the sun won’t dare shine!”

“Okay, wow: that’s...graphic,” Jamie said, looking very disturbed. “But, think about it! He’s going to see you coming the second you go through that door and he’ll vaporize you. Did you not see the headless body back there?!” Seeing that Aster was slowing down, and actually listening to his words, Jamie pushed on, “You’re no good to your friend if you’re dead. We need to think of a plan.”

“Fine! What’s yer plan?”

“I go in first and distract him while you get your friend.”

“Absolutely not. He’ll kill ya before I get half-way to Jack.”

“You’re fast and I grew up with six older brothers,” and four of whom had tried to kill him over the years, he thought glumly. “I’m good at avoiding danger.”

“No way. I didn’t bring ya here so ya could get yerself killed.”

“Then you distract him, and I’ll get your friend.”

“Not a chance, I’m not lettin’ anyone near the kid but me.”

“Then what do you suggest we do?!”

Before Aster could voice a plan – other than his original one of limb removal, which he was still very partial to – the large doors next to them were thrown open. Another young man, a little older than Jamie with very similar features, went charging through them with a loud battle cry. Jamie and Aster stared in frozen surprise for a moment, and then Jamie snorted and shook his head.

“Subtle as ever, Pip,” he muttered.

“Was that yer brother?”

“Unfortunately. Okay, new plan: we let Pippen distract your psycho, sneak in and grab your friend and my stone, and then sneak back out while they kill each other. Sound good?”

“I like it,” Aster decided. “It’s absolutely not going ta work.”

“Ah, yeah, totally not going to work. And when things go to hell, we’ll deal with our individual problems. Sound like a plan?”

“Sounds like a plan. Good luck ta ya.”

“And to you.”

They shook hands, and then ran through the open doors.

X

By the time Pitch decided to switch tools, Jack felt oddly cold. Not numb, though that would have been a blessing – there were cuts on every part of his body, and they all hurt more than Jack thought possible – but cold, right down to the center of his being. He shivered against the stone while Pitch looked over his weapons, muttering something about whether to go with ‘blunt or hot’, and Jack was pretty sure he didn’t want to understand what that meant. And also very sure that he was going to find out no matter what he wanted.

He tried to focus on freezing the bands around his wrists, like he’d done the first time Pitch had tied him up. But, ironically despite the cold flowing through him, he couldn’t get any ice to form. Jack kept trying, even as Pitch turned back to the table with what looked like a large hammer in hand. Probably what he meant by ‘blunt’, Jack thought with a sick twist in his stomach. He hated the answer to that question about as much as he thought he would.

“Now, now, none of this,” he tsked, brushing a light layer of frost off the restraints.

Jack would have loved to make a biting, sarcastic retort to that. But all that came out was “hurts” and a light sob. Pitch hummed thoughtfully, and ran a hand through Jack’s hair like he meant to comfort. It made Jack shake even harder.

“I know. It’ll be over before you know it. I’ll even give you some water here soon. But first, we’ll have to deal with this,” he said as he ran his fingers up and down the back of Jack’s hand.

Jack realized what he meant to do just before Pitch brought the hammer down hard on Jack’s left hand. The feel of the bones shifting shocked the breath out of his lungs, so that only a strained exhale served as his scream. But with the second hit a full scream blasted past his lips as he felt the bones shatter. He sobbed and gasped through the pain, shivering so violently that he felt like he would shake himself apart. When Pitch moved to his other side, raising the weapon to do the same to the other hand, Jack turned his head away and tried to keep from whimpering or begging, even if he couldn’t keep the sobs down.

“This wouldn’t be necessary if you would just behave,” Pitch said over the sound of Jack’s sobbing. “But you insist on being naughty, so I need to put a cap on those powers. And you can’t use them if you can’t use your hands.” He stopped mid-swing as the doors were thrown open. “Oh, what now?!” he snarled.

Jack turned his head so that his gaze followed Pitch as the man stalked around the platform. Down by the entrance was a man – young, but older than Jack – who he didn’t recognize. Through the steady roar of pain, Jack heard the stranger say, or demand, something about a stone. That perked his interest, as did the way that he smacked Ana aside as he advanced on Pitch, but not enough to focus his full attention. The pain in his hand had that honor.

He distinctly felt every single broken bone, from his wrist to his fingers. The awareness brought a wave of pain that flowed through the whole of his body and settled as a rolling nausea in his stomach. He fought down the urge to be sick, knowing that in his current position that he would drown if he did so, and no matter the situation, he did not want to die by drowning in his own vomit. Not that death by torture is any less humiliating, he thought bitterly.

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Jack burst into full bodied, snotty tears. He was in so much pain and he was just so tired of it all. Of the fear and the uncertainty and the pain, and he was just ready for this all to be over. He wanted it to stop, please make it stop, Bunny make it stop help me!

Then, as if summoned by his thoughts, Aster appeared in the door way. The air was shocked out of his lungs, stopping him from screaming for the rabbit, and when his brain caught up with his heart, Jack was glad for that lapse. If he’d called out, it would have alerted Pitch – who was currently throwing the stranger around like a rag doll – that Aster was here.

So instead he just stared at Aster with wide, hopeful eyes, and the rabbit’s eyes zoomed to Jack’s. Jack gave him a watery smile and shivered against the stone. Aster returned the look with one that promised everything would be okay, and Jack nodded enthusiastically.

Then he went to work at freeing himself from the restraints. He was done laying there like a helpless damsel; Aster was here to save him, and Jack was going to meet him half-way.

X

Aster and Jamie were forced to take cover the second they went through the doors. Much as Aster wanted to keep his eyes on Jack, the room was now in turmoil. Pippen had managed to land a lucky punch while Pitch had foolishly been playing with the prince. Now the dark man was angry, and play time was over. The room was filled with projectiles thrown about by shadow magic, along with the added hazard of Pippen’s body being tossed against ever wall in the room.

“Our plan’s already going south,” Jamie whispered, referring to the fact that Pippen was already unconscious. They only had a few more seconds before Pitch got tired of bashing his body against the walls and the prince no longer served as a distraction.

“Yep,” Aster agreed, glancing back over to where Jack was strapped down. With the time crunch in mind, he carefully took aim and threw his boomerang. He grinned as it hit Pitch right across the temple. The dark man collapsed, and without Pitch’s magic holding him aloft, Pippen’s body settled right next to him.

“That takes care of that,” Jamie mused.

“That it does. I’m gonna get Frostbite, ya stay here, watch them. Got it?”

Jamie didn’t respond. Aster nudged him and repeated the question, all the while keeping his gaze on their sleeping enemies, but Jamie had his gaze fixed on the opposite side of the room. Aster followed his gaze, and his eyes landed on the slave woman, who was slowly pushing herself up. Jamie made a desperate sound in the back of his throat and dashed over to her.

“Kid, wait!” Aster ran after him as Jamie vaulted over Pitch and Pippen.

The kid skidded to his knees in front of the woman and stared at her in open awe even as she flinched back. Aster came up behind him, ready to shake some sense into the kid’s thick skull. A baby’s cry stopped him dead. While the giant rabbit wandered over to the source of the cry, Jamie cupped the woman’s face, and shamelessly began to weep.

“Ana?” It wasn’t a question so much as a statement – though the shock in his voice made it sound like a question – because he recognized that face anywhere.  
Ana, who’d began to struggle desperately in Jamie’s hold upon hearing her daughter’s renewed crying, went still and really looked at the man holding her. Recognition lit in her eyes and a teary smile bloomed.

“Jamie?”

“Oh my god, you’re alive,” he pulled her into a hug and they both wept. “You’re alive.”

“I take it ya know this girl,” Aster stated as he came up to them, fussy baby in the crook of his arm.

Jamie glanced up, making no attempt to hide the evidence of his tears. “This is my sister. She’s alive,” he said again, voice breaking while he tightened his grip around his sister.

“I’m glad,” Aster said for lack of anything better to say. “Ya should get her and the baby outta here.”

“My baby.” Ana looked up in sudden desperation and zeroed in on her daughter. Aster had to admire the flash of protective fury that came to the woman’s eyes. Respecting the fury of a mother scorned, he quickly deposited the baby into her mother’s arms, sending a quick bolt of magic into the chain around her wrist as he did so. Ana sighed and rubbed her newly freed wrist and gave her daughter a small bounce.

“Ya better get them outta here,” he urged to Jamie.

The young prince nodded and then shrugged off his long coat. “It looks like your friend will need this.”

“Thanks,” Aster said, folding the coat over one arm. “Good luck.”

Jamie nodded and gently guided his sister toward the door while Aster raced toward Jack’s bound form with single minded, desperate speed.

X

Jamie and Ana were barely halfway to the door before he was jerked back by an iron grip on his shoulder. Jamie flew off his feet and landed hard on his back. He hardly had time to get his breath back before he had to avoid the downward swing of Pippen’s blade. Rolling to his feet, Jamie motioned for Ana to continue out the door and drew his own weapon. The two men circled each other, glaring heavily, and then Pippen smirked.

“Who would have thought it would be me and you at the end of this, Jamie? My money was on you dropping dead years ago.”

“Life’s full of surprises,” Jamie muttered.

“Guess you’re made of sterner stuff than I ever thought. Oh what ever will I do now?” His brother shot back with mock distress. “I guess I’d better just give up, I’ll never be able to win this!” Pippen sent a nasty smirk his way and Jamie swallowed back anger.

“You’re not going to win this. Because I’m not going to let you.”

“You can’t beat me, little brother. You’re going to die here, and your last thought is going to be about what I’ll do to those two wenches you care about so much.”

“You’re not going to get anywhere near them!” Jamie finally snapped back. “You’re not going to touch my sisters, and you’re not getting the crown. This ends here, Pippen.”

“Then let’s see what you can do, little white knight.”

The mocking tone made Jamie’s blood boil. Years of repressed anger came over him in a wave. Years of torment and fear and watching his family come apart at the seams and never being able to do a damn thing about it. And now, looking back on that long history helplessness and mockery, Jamie was suddenly so sick of it all. The angry sickness bubbled up in his throat and left his mouth in a scream that tore his throat apart. He charged forward, still screaming with his sword high over his head. Pippen smirked again and ran to meet him.

X

The sound of clashing steel behind him hardly registered in Aster’s mind as he came to a stop over the stone platform. In some hard-headed determination, Jack had slipped one hand out of his restraints and was now desperately tearing his fingers – broken and useless, as Bunny could see now that he was closer – at the bounds on his other hand. Ignoring the swell of heated anger at seeing the child’s numerous wounds, Aster just placed on hand on Jack’s broken one.

“Jackie. Frostbite, Jack,” he said gently as the boy’s fingers still tried to pry at the leather bindings. “Stop. It’s all right, I’m here now. Ya can stop.”

Jack didn’t respond. The pain of slipping his newly broken hand out of his restraints had blanked his mind. He couldn’t register anything beyond the need to get out, get out get out.

“Jack,” he said again, this time pulling the boy’s chin so that their eyes met.

Jack’s gaze blurred in and out of focus, and then settled on Aster. He broke into sobs and rolled his head so that it faced Aster’s chest. The rabbit-man ran a hand over his head as he pulled the remaining restraints apart. He levered Jack upright and took a moment to just hold him close and be happy to have Jack in his arms.

“It’s okay now. Everything’s gonna be okay.”

“It hurts, Bunny,” he sobbed, curling up into Aster’s arms.

“Shhh, I know, Jackie. I know. It’s gonna be all right, I’m gonna get ya outta here, I promise.”

Jack trembled violently, and then suddenly retched. A warm, wet sensation accompanied the sound, and the vomit splashed on Aster’s flank. Then, a small voice sobbed out from his chest: “I threw up.” The rabbit winced and rubbed Jack’s back in calming circles.

“Yeah, I noticed, kiddo.”

“Sorry,” the boy croaked.

“Nothin’ ta be sorry about, Frostbite. Let’s just get outta here.” With that he wrapped Jamie’s long coat, luckily puke free, around the boy and scooped him up, cradling the precious bundle to his chest as he vaulted down the stairs.

Ahead of them, Jamie and Pippen were at each other’s throats, circling one another in a dance of danger and steel. Pitch was no-where to be seen, which immediately had Aster’s hackles standing on end. It was never good when Pitch wasn’t in sight; it usually meant he was creeping up for a chance to stab you in the back.

With that in mind, Aster cautiously made his way toward the exit. Jack made a small sound of pain with each step, which made Aster wince. He held the boy higher up on his chest in an attempt to make him more comfortable, moving him so that Jack’s head rested on his shoulder.

The change in position saved both of their lives.

As Jack’s head lolled on Aster’s shoulder, he had a clear line of sight behind the giant rabbit’s back. Which meant he caught sight of Pitch – creeping up behind him, just like Aster knew he would be! – and was able to call out a warning before the man could bury a knife in Aster’s back. Aster dropped to the ground and rolled, jolting Jack’s injuries, but fortunately avoiding the knife.

Unfortunately, Pitch now stood between them and the exit. He stood with his back fully hunched over, cheeks sunken in and wrinkled and hair falling from various places on his scalp. The manic grin and the knife held high over his head made him look all the more terrifying, like a monster truly worthy of Aster’s nightmares.

“Where do you think you’re going with my star?” He said with that snarling smile.

Jack whimpered, either from the words or from the way Aster tightened his grip on him when he heard those words. Pitch advanced on them, and then whipped around with a snarl as something collided with his back. Jamie and Pippen’s fight had brought them on an intersecting course with Pitch, although both men were unaware of it as focused on one another as they were.

It was Pippen who’d bumped into the dark wizard, and it proved to be fatal oversight on his part. Pitch turned on his heels and snapped the man’s neck before he even knew to be afraid.

“You and your lot are getting very irritating,” he growled at Jamie, who gaped at him in shock. A flick of his wrist had the last prince of Stormhold hurtling toward the opposite wall.

Hoping to use the lapse in concentration to escape, Aster crept a few steps around Pitch. The dark man saw them the second they started moving, and a blast of shadow magic to his chest sent Aster flying. The rough landing had the air exploding out of Aster’s lungs, and his head cracked against the stone floor, making the world tilt on its axis. His body took the brunt of the impact, but Jack still cried out when they landed.

And like a shark with the scent of blood, Pitch honed in on that sound, circling.

“You know Jack, it seems that the cosmos is just determined to keep us from our fun.”

Jack shrank away as the man approached, sliding out of Aster’s arms as he did so. Aster reached for him and tried to sit up, but his body refused to do so as it tried to recover from the impact. Out of the corner of his eye, the anthropomorphic saw Jamie gingerly pushing himself upright. He sent the young prince a look, desperately encouraging him to do something. He didn’t have time to see if Jamie did so, because Pitch was getting far, far too close to Jack, and Aster needed to focus on getting his body to do something.

“I suppose your frightened little heart will have to do as is. It isn’t what I hoped for, but one cannot be picky in the face of starvation." Pitch brandished the knife as he spoke, and Aster tried to lunge for him as he leered over Jack. He fell flat on his face in the attempt, which chased all the remaining air out of his lungs. Hearing Pitch laugh at his struggle made Aster angry enough to try and move again, but all the hot anger in the world wasn’t enough to overcome the lack of air. Despite the lack of response in his limbs, Aster kept trying. He couldn’t let Jack die right in front of him, he had to be able to save him. Nothing in his life had any meaning if he couldn’t save this boy – his boy.

Luckily, Jamie had heard his silent plea, and subsequently provided a distraction. Dozens of animals lined the wall next to the young prince, all scrapping angrily at the doors of their cages, and all staring at the dark man himself. Hoping that they wouldn’t attack everyone in sight, Jamie closed his eyes and cleaved the chains locking the cage doors in two. The animals, ranging from ferrets to small wild dogs, all made a bee-line for Pitch as soon as they were free. The bigger animals targeted his legs, therefore pulling the man violently to the ground, where the smaller critters swarmed him.

Despite everything Pitch had put him through, Aster averted his eyes when the man started screaming as the animals tore into him, and made sure Jack did the same. He directed his gaze to Jamie, who was staring at the attack with wide, horrified eyes, and called for him to get out. The young man quickly did so, understandably frightened by everything that he’d seen. Meanwhile, Aster gathered Jack back into his arms and made his way toward the doors once more.

Pitch’s scream abruptly cut off when they were within arm’s length of the door, and a horde of animals streamed past Aster, nearly knocking him off his feet in their mad scramble to freedom. He flailed and barely managed to stay upright. He took tentative step forward as soon as he regained his center of balance and one of the many chandeliers came crashing down directly in front of them, blocking them once again from the exit. Aster winced, let out a hopeless breath, and slowly turned to once again face Pitch Black.

There were several large pieces of flesh missing all over his body, and his face drastically aged as he used his magic in an attempt to heal himself. Now he looked just as he did the day he killed Aster’s family, and the Pooka nearly vomited. Pitch panted heavily – either from pain or from the exertion from healing himself, likely both – as he glared daggers at both Aster and the boy in his arms.

“You really think a bunch of animals would be enough to stop me?” He snarled, focused solely on Aster. “If that were the case, I wouldn’t have wiped out your race like the vermin that they were.”

Aster let out a sound that was half snarl and half sob and took a tentative step backward. He stepped on a piece of glass from the broken light and stumbled in pain. Jack clung so tightly to him at the movement that Aster felt the hair in the boy’s grip come lose.

“Although, now you get to watch as I carve him to bits. And then I’ll finally be able to scrape the last muck of your race off the face of the planet, at long last. I suppose that the turn of events could be worse. Now—“He was jerked off his feet before he could finish.

A golden lasso, wrapped around Pitch’s skeletal wrist, pulled him far off the ground and propelled him toward the nearest wall. Again and again, the man was flung against the walls, and the floor and even the ceiling at one point, until finally he was tossed into the air one last time and allowed to drop. He landed on the ground near the stone table at the back of the room.

Recognizing that magic, and the signature weapon, anywhere, Aster let out a joyous cry. “Sandy!”

And there he was, along with North and Nightlight. It was hard to believe that it hadn’t even been a week since Aster had last seen them. The sight of them now made his spirts soar like he hadn’t seen the three in years. He dashed over, beaming even as he juggled Jack in his numb arms.

“North. Mate, ya lot are a sight for sore eyes.” That being said, he delivered a sift knock to the side of the taller man’s head. “What are you thinking, bringin’ the two of them here?” He demanded, giving North a stern look.

“Seraphina said it was urgent.” The twist of his nose told volumes about how North felt about seeing Sera again. Aster rolled his eyes.

“‘Urgent’ doesn’t mean deliver our friends to the belly of the beast, ya git.”

The feel of Jack being pulled out of his arms pulled Aster’s attention away from North’s reply. He jerked the boy closer to his body, tensing into a battle stance – and then relaxed his arms when he saw that it was just Sandy and Nightlight pulling Jack to his feet.

The three stars gazed at each other in the same open adoration that Aster had seen in the call to North just a few days ago, linked together now by clasped hands. Nightlight placed his free hand on the other boy’s shoulder and smiled gently. Jack returned it weakly and glowed dimly. The two older stars and blared their own lights in joy.  
“I really didn’t want to meet you guys like this,” Jack said, his voice still hoarse from screaming, and vomit.

Nightlight sighed in sympathy. He pulled Jack close, brushing his forehead against the other boy’s for comfort. Sandy wrapped his arms around each boys’ skinny waist, and all three huddled close to one another. The perfect picture of a reunited family, strange as they were.

Aster swallowed heavily and blinked away the sudden film of tears over his eyes.

“We gotta get them outta here.” They didn’t have much time, and both Guardians knew it.

North nodded and swiped at his own eyes. Unfortunately, the time spent watching the stars’ reunion – brief though it was – was too long. Aster and North were thrown off their feet and out the doors. The double doors slammed shut behind them.

“NO!!” Aster scrambled to his feet and assaulted the door. He rammed his shoulder into the wood, beat on it until his fists bled, and just threw the entirety of his body against the door. When that didn’t work he ran over to the window and repeated the process.

“Aster. stop. I need you to step aside.” When the anthropomorphic didn’t respond, and instead just continued to slap his bloodied hands on the glass, North grabbed his shoulder. Aster wrenched away.

“No! I need to get in there. I have to get in, I have to get to him! That’s my boy!”

This time, North didn’t try to continue reasoning with him. He just pulled Aster bodily away from the window, and the momentum had Aster falling to the ground. He bolted up, angry until he saw North working at the window with what looked like a column of stone. A torch from the side of the doors, Aster realized a moment later. Followings North’s lead, Aster grabbed the second torch and ran to the second window. Inside, the three stars were still huddled together, encircled on one another defensively. They were far from defenseless, with both Sandy and Nightlight sent large bursts of magic at Pitch as he advanced them. But the dark man countered the lighter magic easily.

Aster beat at the window more desperately the closer that Pitch got to the three. He could hear the man talking, because really, Pitch never stopped talking. He listened closer, and though it was muffled, Aster could make out the words with little trouble.

“Three for the price of one. And here I thought that today was a disaster. It seems I’ll be getting that millennium after all, maybe longer. You’re better luck that I thought, Jack.”  
Jack shuddered from where he was tucked between the two older stars, who sent more blasts Pitch’s way. He waved away the disjointed attacks.

Beyond the splintering glass, Aster saw Jack’s face light up in inspiration. Then he glowed in a different light, one that sent a silent message to his brothers. Sandy and Nightlight paused, sent answering messages. The room suddenly grew steadily brighter. The light began as an outline around the three stars, and then grew to engulf the entire room. It was clear white, with a hint of purple in the center, so bright that it burned. Pure light from the heavens.

Inside, Pitch began to scream.

“Get down!” Aster shouted to the others, who stood mesmerized from the light. “Don’t look! Look away, duck!”

North and the royals dropped to the ground just as the windows and doors were blown apart. Even with his eyes closed, Aster could still see the bright white glow of the light.

Beautiful and deadly. Cold and burning. The light of the stars.

Aster’s ears were filled with shrilled ringing that faded slowly and was replaced by the screaming of Ana’s daughter. He gingerly rolled to his feet, shaking the lightheadedness and increased ringing from his head as he did so, and took stock of the others. Jamie was folded over his sister at the window furthest from the door, which shielded her from the glass. Ana was hunched over with her daughter tucked against her chest. North was closest to him, lying on his back where the blast had left him. All three were in a daze.  
He didn’t take the time to call out a check on the others. Instead, he charged through the broken doors. Jack, Nightlight and Sandy still stood in the center of the room, still in a circle of contact. Jack turned as he heard Aster came up, broke into a smile and ran to the Pooka’s chest.

“It’s all right,” he assured – though it was hard to tell who need the comfort more; him or Jack. “It’s okay now. It’s over now.”

Looking over Jack’s shoulder, he could see that it truly was. Pitch was trapped in a block of ice six feet tall. The man’s eyes were closed, and he looked caught somewhere between shocked at what was happening, and strangely at peace. Jack turned so that his back faced Aster’s chest and followed his gaze.

“We weren’t doing so well by ourselves. I thought the three of us together might have had a better chance. Nightlight blinded him to keep him from getting closer. Sandy kept him calm so that he stayed still and so that I could freeze him.”

“Smart.” Aster nodded. He ran a hand over Jack’s hair and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. He gave the boy a tight squeeze, and Jack subtly leaned into the contact.

North and the two royals filed into the room, and Aster turned to meet them, pulling a stumbling Jack with him. North sent him a partially annoyed, large part fond look and started to make a sarcastic comment about the Pooka leaving them to pick themselves up when Ana raced over to his side and latched onto his arm.

“Nicholas?” She gazed at him so intently it should have burned a hole into the man’s forehead, and then broke into a glowing grin. “Nicholas!”

“Ana? My—it is you. You are here! You are here, you are alive and—“ He stopped dead, having sight of the baby still in the crook of Ana’s arm. “You have a child,” he finished, looking and sounding utterly thunderstruck.

Ana smiled, shyly this time, and held the baby up for North to get a better look. Her hair was dark like her mother’s but curled at the base of her neck in a way unique to her father. The girl’s unique eyes, violet from her mother and bright blue from her father, blink at him curiously. North stared back.

“We have a child,” she corrected. “Nicholas, meet Tania Nikole St. North: your daughter.”

Aster rushed over as North’s legs abruptly loss the ability to hold him. While the rabbit-man tried to get his friend back to his senses, Jack hopped over to Ana, who looked significantly put out by the reaction.

“Hey, it’s okay. That’s just a lot to take in.” Not that Jack would know anything about that or had any desire to. “So that’s the guy you were talking about in the carriage? That’s him?”

Ana nodded, still looking dejected. While North slowly made his way over – looking a little abashed after Aster explained to him that his reaction might not have been the best in the light of fatherhood – and tentatively asked to hold his daughter, Jack practically flew to Aster’s side.

“They’re in love. Ana told me all about on the—earlier. They’re totally in love, on the standards of true love. And we reunited them. We just reunited true love!!”

“I’ll be sure ta add that ta our résumé,” Aster said in a deadpan.

Jack pouted, and then smirked. “I don’t know how well ‘Fairy-God mothers’ is going to look for two guys.”

Jack squawked as Aster shoved him and then looped an arm under his chin. Then his heart skipped – again; he really couldn’t take much more of this – as Aster pulled him behind him – again – at the sound of a threat at the door – again. (He really, really couldn’t take any more scares like this today). Luckily, this time it wasn’t a threat at the doors of Pitch’s lair, but Sera, charging through the doors with a battle cry in front of a mob of charging, battle-crying pirates. Sera came to a sudden stop upon seeing that there was no major battle going on and zeroed in on Aster.

“I brought more back up,” she explained helpfully.

“It’s appreciated. But ya missed the battle by just a bit.”

Sera shrugged, and then dropped her weapon and rushed over. She pulled Aster into a full bodied hug, and then snagged Jack with her free arm.

“Are you okay?” She asked, dropping down so that she was eye level with Jack. A few gentle touches had the worst of the cuts on his frame closing up. The hand would have to heal on its own. Jack sighed in relief and shrugged half-heartedly.

And pulled the coat tighter around him, as there were suddenly quite a few people in the room and he was still very naked. Then he frowned as he caught sight of the nasty bruise on her cheek bone that she’d hadn’t had the time to take care of with the excitement of the day, and gently brushed his fingers over it.

“What happened there?” Aster asked, hackles rising at the injury. He vaguely remembered seeing it at Raju’s wagon, but the panic of Jack’s kidnapping dulled the memory. He gave himself a vicious mental kick for that and gently took Sera’s face in his hands.

“It’s fine. Just a bad run in with Jamie’s big brother. Seems like he won’t be a problem anymore,” she said, motioning to Pippen’s body.

“Yeah, our boy destroyed him! Survived when all others fell and claimed the crown! Told you that you would,” one of Sera’s men said with a slap on the prince’s shoulder.

“Actually, I just outsourced and stuck the crazy dark wizard on him,” Jamie said back. There was a slight hitch in his voice that said Jamie wasn’t totally unaffected by that fact.

“That reminds me. Jack,” Aster turned to where said boy was back to snuggling in Sera’s arms. “Ya need ta get that stone ya’ve been carryin’ around. Prince James needs it ta be king.”

“Yeah, sure – Wait. If I have it, doesn’t that mean that I’m the king?” Jack asked, eyes sparked in interest.

“No.” The adults, including Jamie who wandered over at the mention of the stone, said in unison.

“Well, you,” he pointed to Jamie, still smirking,” would say that, so—“

“Jack,” Aster said sternly.

“Can’t blame a guy for trying.”

He slowly made his way over to where the necklace lay in tatters, starting to feel the ache from the last few hours as he moved. Sera may have taken care of the worst of the damage, but the adrenaline was wearing off and with the burst of magic he’d used to take out Pitch, Jack was heading for a crash. Big time.

Jack plucked the little white stone up from the pile of rubble that was once the necklace, cradling his broken hand to his chest, and made his way back over to Jamie.

“You sure that you don’t want me to keep this thing? It’s a whole lot of trouble, you know.”

“Yeah it is, no doubt. But I’m the only one left who can take it.” Jack cocked his head at the small flash that went through Jamie’s eyes at that last bit and dropped the stone in the man’s outstretched hand. A deep red swirled and rapidly replaced the white, until Jamie was holding a blood red ruby.

“Cool,” Jack said in awe.

“Not as cool as that.” Jamie motioned over to the frozen column of Pitch. “Not just literally.”

“Har, har.”

“I mean, it is a bit spooky, but—OH MY GOD! He’s still alive!”

Jamie recoiled back from where he’d leaned closer to examine the ice. Pitch’s eyes were wide open, and the iris bolted around frantically. The rest of him remained immobile.

All eyes shifted to Jack, who shuffled uncomfortably under the attention.

“I couldn’t kill your dad, so I went with the next best thing,” he said, speaking to Sera.

The woman gave him a touched look, and then glanced over at Aster. The giant rabbit made his way over to the column. Those eyes locked on him, and although Pitch couldn’t move any other part of his body, Aster could feel him glaring.

“Bein’ able ta hear and see anything but never bein’ able ta do anything else,” he mused, chillingly calm. “Never bein’ able ta move anything but yer eyes. Having to watch the world go by, and never be able ta impact it, ever again. Pretty good next best option, kiddo.” Jack gulped and nodded. And made it his life’s goal to make sure that Bunny was never, ever that angry with him.

“Whatcha’ want ta do with him?”

Sera purse her lips in thought. “Gentlemen,” she called over to her crew, “if you would, transport my father...cicle, to the ship. Deal with it,” she shot to her father’s irritated look. Really, it was impressive how many expressions he could make with only the movement of his eyes. “We’ll finally have the chance to get to some long-awaited family therapy,” Sera decided, watching as her crew hauled away the piece of ice that was now her father. “With any luck, we’ll be able to untangle the epic mistakes of our past. If not, well... he’s not doing any harm like that.”

“Doin’ okay?”

“Yeah.” She met his eyes and smiled warmly. It quickly morphed into something more teasing as she looped an arm over Aster’s shoulders, then did the same with Jack. “I’ve got all my boys. All’s right with the world.”

Said boys rolled their eyes. Nightlight and Sandy hovered close to Jack, much like two planets orbiting a star. Across the room, the men who weren’t moving the frozen Pitch were once again crowded around Jamie, offering congratulations – and possibly trying to gain favor from the new king. North weaved among them, every inch the proud papa now that he absorbed the shock of suddenly being a father and presented his new daughter. The baby seemed to be lapping up the attention, and North was glowing. Ana trailed behind him, glowing as much as North, and then wrapped her brother into her arms.

“Yeah,” Aster agreed. "Seems liked.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Epic chapter length, hope it makes up for the wait. Epilogue up next, shouldn't take as long as this chapter.


	11. Happily Ever After(s)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've finally arrived at the end, my friends. Thank you so much for sticking with me on this, and all your lovely support.

The kingdom was in a fit of excitement. A new monarch was to be crowned today, and after decades of the terrible rule from the last king, the change was a welcome thing. And for the first time in the long line of Bennett, there was a chance that the change would be for the better.

Aster stood toward the front of the crowed, nearest to the podium that displayed the throne, and for the first time in his life, he didn’t have to hide his appearance. For the first time since he lost his people, he felt no fear of revealing himself as a Pooka. After all, he’d been a crucial part of obtaining the crown. That got him some special protection, even if people still sent him curious glances when they weren’t staring intently at the throne. Some whispers accompanied those stares, both judgmental and curious. Aster cheerfully ignored them and glanced at the two at his side.

Jack stood closest to him, smiling contently with eyes that were alight with excitement. He was finely dressed for the occasion, with a sharp outfit all hand made by North. And finally had clothing that didn’t belong to a woman, Aster thought with a wry smile.

The top was made of silk and a deep blue in color, as Jack had proven fond of the color. It was accented around the color and cuffs with a stormy grey, North’s way of paying tribute to Jack’s star heritage. The trousers where simply black leather. They flowed seamlessly into the black shin-length boots that Jack detested so. His ever-present staff hung at his side like it was an extension of his arm. With his wild hair pulled into submission – by which he meant that it was manageable and not sticking out at all ends quite as much – he made for a very nice picture.

The only thing that ruined that picture was the cast around his hand. It had been a month, and the hand was nearly healed, but it remained as a constant, nagging reminder of what had happened. Jack had become much quieter, subdued, after what had happened with Pitch. He was recovering, ever so slowly, but he wasn’t the same.

A small part of Aster thought that the boy never would be. He tried to ignore it.

Nightlight and Sandy stood just behind Aster, nearby as always, and boxing Jack in on his other side was Sera. Though she still preferred trousers and long-sleeved blouses, she’d gone more traditionally feminine for the occasion. She wore a long sleeved, simple green gown. Other than the v-cut at her chest, the dress was plain, though the shade of green looked lovely on her. Her hair was down and undecorated, well below her waist in dark waves.

Aster studied her, the way she kept a hand on Jack’s shoulder with a small, pleased smile on her face, and thought that she’d never looked more beautiful than in this content happiness. He placed his own hand over where hers rested on Jack’s shoulder, linking the three of them as a unit. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye and grinned.

Then trumpets blared in announcement of the royal family’s arrival. A hush fell over the room as the three siblings filed in.

In the front of the group were Jamie and Ana, walking arm to arm. Ana wore an elegant purple gown, the same shade of her eyes, that was accented with teal beadwork. Around her shoulders was a long fur cape died with the same violet and teal colors, patterned so that it looked like the feathers of an exotic bird. Her dark hair was pulled slick against her head, so that the usual spikes formed a crown of dark locks.

Beside her, Jamie’s own outfit of forest greens and blacks was simple, but elegant and crisp in its own way. The only decoration on his person was the newly repaired royal stone, with the ruby re-set in a golden chain that had the stone hanging at the center of his chest. Directly behind them came their youngest sister, Sophie, dressed in a robin blue gown and a silver circle over her brow, which marked her as the kingdom’s princess. Aster felt a smile bloom as he watched the young girl practically bounce after her siblings. He’d developed a slight soft spot – or very soft spot, if you asked Jack, which Aster did not – after they first met at North and Ana’s wedding the week before.

And, speak of the devil, North took up the rear back of the group, wearing an outfit similar to Jamie’s, with red as the primary in color. In his arms was tiny Tania, held with her back to North so that she got a full view of her surroundings. The baby wore a small dress to match her mother’s, inverted with teal as the primary color. Those blue and violent eyes scanned the room almost appraisingly, every bit a princess.

The two older siblings came to a stop in front of the throne and turned to face the room, with Ana standing in the center. North and Sophie fanned out on either side of them. The new bishop swept in from the far corner, holding the elaborate crown high above his head. He came to a stop in front of Jamie and Ana and waited. A murmur spread through the room, then abruptly died down in a blanket of anxious silence.

Watching them, Jamie’s words from the wedding rang in Aster’s head:

“Pippen was crazy, sick in the head and an overall terrible person. But he was right about one thing: I don’t have what it takes to be king. I’m not the right person for the throne, and I shouldn’t be the one to take it just because I’m the only male left in the family. Not when there’s someone else who can do it better.”

Jamie stepped from his sister’s side and slowly circled around so he was facing her. The two locked eyes for a moment, then Jamie slowly lifted the stone over his head and draped the chain over his sister’s. The deep red of the stone stood out in blaring contrast to the rest of Ana’s outfit, but at the same time looked like it belonged. Jamie bowed deeply and stepped away, leaving room for the bishop to come forward with the crown once more.

One of the servants took hold of the velvet pillow, allowing the bishop to take hold of the crown. Holding it reverently in two hands, he placed the crown on Ana’s dark tresses.

“I present to you, the first of her name: Queen Ana, of Stormhold.”

The room erupted in applause, and Ana beamed.

X

Night fell, and the kingdom was celebrating. Aster stood off to the side of the room, leaning against the wall casually as he watched the rest of the room. North had pulled the new Queen into the center of the room for a dance, leaving his daughter with Jamie. Just off to the side, Jack and Sophie alternated between bouncing around the room – Aster guessed it was supposed to be a dance, but both teenagers were so high on sugar it was honestly hard to tell – and bouncing around Jamie to get a look at the baby.

Aster felt a slight twinge of concern, especially when the two teens were doing the bounce that may have been a dance. Jack and Sophie were spending a lot of time together. Was that because the princess was the only one even close to Jack’s age? Or was this what teenage love looked like? Oh, please let it be the first one, Aster thought with a rush of panic. I can’t handle teenage love.

However, seeing the happy grin that was spread over Jack’s face, he decided he might be able to handle it a little bit, if indeed that’s what it was. This was the happiest he’d seen the kid in the last month. Luckily, Sera joined him before his thoughts could spiral back into a panic about whether or not Jack was on the verge of having a love life. And his inability to handle that.

He sent a smile her way. She returned the gesture, and Aster was warmed again by how content she looked.

“You seem happy,” she said, voicing his thoughts.

“It’s largely your doing.”

“I think it’s about half my doing.” She sent a meaningful look in Jack’s direction. “I’ve been worried that we’d never see him happy like this.”

“He’s doin’ better.” He was tempted, for a moment, to ask the question that was constantly hanging over them. About the man who had not only permanently scarred Aster’s life, but Sera and Jack’s as well. The man who was currently stashed away on her ship. But, as always, the question stayed glued to his tongue, though he knew they would eventually have to discuss it. Instead, he took her hand and pulled her gently away from the wall; “Dance with me?” he offered.

Sera’s fine eyebrows shot up. “I didn’t think you were one for dancing.”

“Oh, I’m not. Terrible at it.” He motioned to his oversized feet, and Sera laughed at his expense. “But the night’s got me in a mood. So, ‘dance with me’?”

Sera gladly let him spin her into his arms. The danced just around the crowd, and as Aster promised, his dancing was less than stellar. He spent half of the time tripping over his own feet, and the other half tripping over Sera’s.

It should have been mortifying. He should have been running from the room in a fit of embarrassment. Instead, he was grinning so wide that his face felt like it would split and pulling Sera into another dance as the music changed.

“I can’t believe North’s the new king of Stormhold. I’m a little terrified,” he said, gazing over at where North and Ana were twirling around the room.

“Technically he’s the ‘lord’ of Stormhold. And don’t worry; he’ll be too busy micromanaging the company he’s left me to do much ruling of the kingdom. Which is awesome,” she said back with bitter sarcasm.

“Still surprised that he left ya his workshop?” Because Aster sure was.

“Of course not. I’m the best businessman – woman – that there is. Plus I have dozens of hard working men to flood the staff with. Business is going to flourish under my management. He respects my skills.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder in a preening move. Then a shadow passed over her face. “Not that he actually left it to me. Micromanaging, remember? I can only imagine that he left it to me so that he could irritate me with his hovering.”

Aster snorted and twirled her a final time, turning her so that her back was facing his front. “It’ll be nice to see so much of you,” he said, resting his chin on her shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her. He nuzzled the side of her neck, inhaling the strong concentration of Sera’s scent at the junction of her shoulder and neck.

“That tickles,” she complained, shouldering away Aster’s nose. He snorted a laugh, nuzzled that area again – this time getting an elbow to the ribs, but it was worth it for the shrilled giggle he got out of Sera – and then just rested his head onto her shoulder again. He gazed over at North and Ana, still nowhere near tiring out. At Jack, hovering over Tania with Sophie by his side. At Jamie, who smiled at the two teenagers and looked lovingly at the baby, smiling in total contentment. And at Nightlight and Sandy, who stood among the crowd, staying just close enough to keep a constant eye on Jack. His strange little family.

Aster sighed happily and tightened his grip on Sera.

“I’m ready to face the future with ya.”

Sera beamed as she turned in his arms to face him. She nuzzled her nose to his. Kissing Aster with a snout was a difficult feat, and somewhat of a foreign gesture. Nuzzling was a more natural display of affection, and one that Sera to find just as enjoyable. They broke apart at the sound of exaggerated chocking. Aster sent a heated glare over to Jack, who just sent him an impish grin back.

“Kid, I’m gonna have ta kill ya,” Aster said back with what was likely supposed to be a dark look. The delighted grin on his face betrayed that illusion.

He lunged at Jack and wrapped an arm around the boy’s head, trapping Jack’s chin with his elbow. Jack twisted and flailed in attempts to get free, and Aster stumbled with the momentum. They both staggered off, laughing like mad. Sera shook her head fondly and followed after them to make sure no one got hurt.

She sighed in contentment, knowing that whatever the future threw at them, she was ready to face it. They all were.

END


End file.
